Federal Minister for National Health Services and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Syed Mustafa Kamal has called for the creation of new administrative provinces, saying Pakistan can no longer be effectively governed under its existing administrative structure.
Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, Kamal said the establishment of new provinces had become unavoidable and pledged support for any initiative aimed at introducing administrative reforms. He argued that the country’s current governance system was no longer capable of meeting public needs.
Kamal said Karachi, despite being Pakistan’s economic hub, had not received its fair share of public funds. He claimed that over the past 18 years, the federal and provincial governments collected a combined Rs22 trillion in revenues, but only Rs680 billion was allocated to Karachi, which he said amounted to around three percent of the total.
According to Kamal, Karachi would have received nearly Rs2 trillion over the same period if the previous funding system had remained in place. He alleged that changes introduced under the 2010 National Finance Commission (NFC) Award deprived the city of its financial rights.
He claimed that before 2010, the federal government transferred development funds directly to districts. However, after changes to the NFC Award, provincial governments began receiving those allocations, resulting in Karachi no longer obtaining what he described as its rightful share.
The MQM-P leader also alleged that funds allocated to Sindh had failed to reach the people and remained concentrated at the provincial level. He said adequate funding could have transformed Karachi’s roads, schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure.
Comparing Karachi with Lahore, Kamal said the Punjab capital had moved “50 years ahead” in terms of development. While welcoming Lahore’s progress, he argued that Karachi had been neglected and continued to face shortages in essential public services.
He also criticised the Sindh government over issues including access to clean drinking water, education, healthcare and municipal services. Kamal highlighted problems such as schools lacking basic facilities, children remaining out of school, dog bite incidents and accidents involving uncovered sewer drains.
Announcing the next phase of MQM-P’s campaign, Kamal said the party would launch a public movement while remaining within the Constitution and the law. He said the party had already raised these concerns in Parliament and even presented a constitutional amendment bill, but claimed its demands had not been addressed.
