KARACHI: Condemning remarks of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah against those talking about division of Sindh, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan said on Wednesday that raising voice for more provinces was not treason as the Constitution of Pakistan allows creation of new administrative units.

On Tuesday, CM Shah while winding up debate on the budget 2018-19 in the Sindh Assembly said: “I curse those who talk about the division of Sindh. I make it clear that these people should get such notions out of their heads.”

“The speech of CM Murad Ali Shah against those people who are talking about a separate province is hateful, shameful and condemnable,” MQM-P leader Faisal Subzwari told a press conference at the party’s temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad.

He said that Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari himself raised voice for creation of the South Punjab province. “Is Murad Ali Shah’s curse only for us or is he also cursing Bilawal [for demanding a new province],” he asked.

He said Mr Shah never cursed those who were openly talking about disintegration of Pakistan by making ‘Sindhudesh’.

Accompanied by MQM leaders Amir Khan, Aminul Haq and others, he said that the PPP had failed during its 10-year rule to establish even one model union council anywhere in Sindh. “The PPP and the CM should curse their corruption, incompetence and biased attitude.”

Mr Subzwari, who is also the MQM’s deputy parliamentary party leader in the Sindh Assembly, said that the PPP-led Sindh government did nothing when more than half of the people of Karachi were not counted in the census results.

“Actually, they [PPP] are happy because they know the population of Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah is more than the population of rural Sindh and they would stand no chance of making their government if real figure comes out in the census,” he said.

He said that census results were being finalised without conducting a five per cent audit of census blocks. He said the PPP was silent over this injustice, but the MQM would raise its voice as it is tantamount to “pre-poll rigging”.

He said that the injustice in the census was not a Sindhi-Mohajir issue. “This is the issue of urban and rural Sindh.”

Responding to a question, he said that some elements were deliberately trying to create an atmosphere of intolerance before the election.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2018