KARACHI: Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has rejected the impression that nothing was being done for Karachi’s development, saying the provincial government was actively addressing the metropolis’s problems and had completed major development projects, though the city’s needs were far greater.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Mr Memon, who also holds the information portfolio, said that industries left Karachi in the past due to strikes and law-and-order issues. He alleged that it was the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) that had promoted ethnic divisions, damaging not only Karachi but the entire country.

“MQM picked and killed 35 SHOs. On May 12, weapons were snatched from the police and handed over to terrorists.

At that time, the MQM mayor was fully empowered,” he said.

Says PPP carrying out historic development in Karachi and other parts of Sindh

He said the government would not allow a return to extortion and ethnic politics.

“Karachi belongs equally to Urdu-speaking and Sindhispeaking people… Ethnic politics should not be conducted under the cover of Urdu,” he added.

On new provinces, he said the creation of new provinces was not acceptable, and the Sindh Assembly had already passed a resolution against it.

The senior minister said that the Pakistan Peoples Party government was ready to give an account of each day of its 18 years in power. “Since its establishment, the PPP has faced conspiracies and propaganda, but it gave major projects to the country, including the constitution and important roles in the acquisition of nuclear power and missile technology,” he added.

He said the current PPP government was being targeted under the pretext of governance.

However, he claimed that no hospital was built in Karachi during MQM’s tenure, while the PPP had established hospitals across Sindh.

He said that air ambulance services were operational from Karachi and Sukkur, facilities for lung and liver transplantation were providing free treatment, and CyberKnife treatment, which costs hundreds of thousands of dollars abroad, was available free of cost without asking for identity cards or provincial affiliation.

“Health facilities available in Sindh are not available anywhere else in Pakistan.

Hundreds of thousands of people from across the country come to Karachi for treatment,” he said, adding that NICVD expanded its scope during the PPP tenure.

He said an entire book could be written on work done in Larkana, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Nawabshah, Jacobabad, Sukkur, Shahdadpur, Umerkot, Thatta and Karachi, with many projects still ongoing.

He said that despite floods in 2010, 2011 and recently, the government was building houses for 2.1 million homeless families. “During the last 18 years, more universities and colleges have been established in Sindh than in any other province,” he added.

On investment, he announced that the provincial government would hold an investment conference in Shanghai, China, to be attended by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, with a delegation leaving for China on Oct 10.

The senior minister said that China Electric had shown interest in the Thar Coal project and agreements worth billions of rupees and MOUs in various sectors were expected to be signed.

Responding to a question about the arrest of Imran Khan’s sisters, he said he did not support the arrests and personally condemned them, adding that political differences should not be taken to the women of the family.

MQM-P reaction The MQM-P hit back at Sindh’s senior minister over what it called “hackneyed” traditional allegations, saying the people’s problems could not be answered by narrating stories from the past.

In a statement, the party said that history had witnessed who raised the slogan of “Idhar hum, udhar tum” and divided the country, and asked why those who divided Sindh on a rural and urban basis did not look into their own collars.

“Instead of repeating allegations of the past, Sharjeel Memon should give an account of the Sindh government’s 18-year performance,” a spokesman said, adding that the problems of the province and the city could not be answered by telling old stories.

He said the demand for administrative powers and resources was not against any language or ethnicity but was the right of the deprived people.

“The demand for basic human rights of the deprived could not be suppressed by levelling allegations of linguistic politics. The MQM is not talking about hatred and division, but about fair distribution of powers and civic rights,” the spokesman said.

Questioning the provincial government’s record in Karachi, the spokesman said that Mr Memon should explain how much money had been spent on the city against the resources generated from it.

“If the Sindh government disagrees with MQM’s demands, it should respond with arguments, data and ground realities instead of allegations,” the spokesman added.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2026