
MQM-P's demand for new province gains momentum
Addressing an event at Hyderabad Institute of Technology and Management Sciences on Saturday, the Federal Minister and convener of MQM-P Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said they will pursue a constitutional amendment in this regard.
"We are against rolling back the 18th amendment. We rather want to see complete implementation over it," Siddiqui, who also spoke to the media, said. He reiterated that article 140-A of the amendment has enshrined a local government system which operated with completely devolved authority.
He emphasised that the new provinces should be created keeping in view the growing population of the country. He argued that it went against the grain of the law to empower the provincial assemblies to decide about creating or not creating new provinces within their territorial jurisdiction.
"We are trying to introduce an amendment in the constitution towards this end." He contended that Hyderabad will continue to be the country's third largest city if an honest population census is conducted. He deplored that such large city with rapidly growing population continues to be deprived of the public sector universities, a demand which MQM-P besides other political parties have been making for decades.
He said a former vice chancellor of NED had planned to open the varsity's campus in Hyderabad but the Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah thwarted his attempt and that campus was instead opened in Tharparkar.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
Ex-Indian minister slams Modi over Pahalgam: ‘Don't blame Pakistan without proof'
NEW DELHI: Former Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram has said that there is no evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the Pahalgam terrorist attack; the attackers were Indian nationals. Chidambaram, who is a member of the opposition Congress, questioned the Modi government 'Why does the Indian government assume that the attackers came from Pakistan? Has the government identified them as Pakistanis?' Congress leader P Chidambaram triggered a massive political controversy with his comment in an interview, in which he said 'homegrown terrorists' could be involved in the Pahalgam terror attack. He also said that 'there is no evidence' so far that the killers came from Pakistan. Chidambaram in an interview with The Quint said, 'Have they identified the terrorists? Where they came from? I mean, for all we know, they could be homegrown terrorists. Why do you assume that they came from Pakistan? There's no evidence of that.' Chidambaram also questioned BJP government's 'silence' on the issue. 'And why is the Prime Minister not speaking on Operation Sindoor? Why do you think there's a reluctance to have a debate in the temple of democracy? That's what Parliament is. After all, Prime Minister Modi has addressed the nation. He's addressed various rallies,' he said. Reacting sharply to his remarks, BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya posted on 'X' that 'Congress rushes to give a clean chit to Pakistan'. 'Why is it that every time our forces confront Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Congress leaders sound more like Islamabad's defence lawyers than India's opposition?' Malviya asked. As row erupted over his remark, Chidambaram in a post on X said, 'The worst kind is a troll who suppresses the full recorded interview, takes two sentences, mutes some words, and paints the speaker in a black colour!'


Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Express Tribune
K-P CM overseeing Tirah crisis: adviser
Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister, has said Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur is personally overseeing the Tirah incident and has summoned a jirga of tribal elders in Peshawar to hear their concerns. "The CM is in constant contact with the relevant administration [to address the crisis]," Saif said in a statement on Monday. According to the adviser, the government is deeply saddened by the tragedy. Five people died and 17 others sustained injuries on Sunday when protesters were fired upon during a protest outside a military installation at the Bagh Maidan area of Tirah Valley of the Khyber district against the killing of a girl . Both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and CM Gandapur condemned the shooting. "We have announced Rs10 million each in compensation for those killed and Rs2.5 million for each of the injured. The provincial government stands in solidarity with the affected families and will remain beside them during this time of grief and sorrow," he added. He said the K-P government last week convened an All Parties Conference (APC) to prevent such incidents in the future. However, he lamented that opposition parties as well as K-P Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, boycotted the conference, displaying a non-serious behavior. Meanwhile, PTI's K-P Organizational Committee, in an emergency meeting, strongly condemned ongoing "state violence" against peaceful citizens across the K-P, especially in the merged districts, which constituted the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) till early 2018. The committee unanimously asserted that extended military deployment under Article 245 of the Constitution has created an unchecked environment of force and ineffective accountability, violating basic rights and disrupting local peace. It made a strong demand to the federal government to revoke all notifications issued under Article 245 within 15 days and to formally announce the withdrawal of military forces from the merged districts. All PTI members in the KP Assembly were instructed to immediately present a resolution based on this demand and to ensure its passage with support from other parties. The committee further directed that the K-P advocate general (AG) be instructed to file an urgent petition in the Supreme Court to lift the stay order issued on December 22, 2023, which has suspended the Peshawar High Court's ruling limiting the scope of Article 245.


Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Pakistan, BD vow to deepen bilateral ties
Pakistan and Bangladesh have pledged to strengthen bilateral relations after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met with Bangladesh's Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Touhid Hussain, on the sidelines of the International Conference on the Two-State Solution at the United Nations in New York on Monday. This marks the fourth high-level interaction between the two countries since October 2024, indicating a renewed momentum in Pakistan-Bangladesh ties following years of strain. According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, the two leaders conducted a comprehensive review of bilateral relations and reaffirmed their shared commitment to enhancing political, economic and cultural cooperation. They also agreed to promote connectivity and people-to-people exchanges, with plans to facilitate high-level bilateral visits in the near future. Both sides expressed deep concern over the grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the ongoing Israeli military aggression against Palestinians. They underscored their unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and stressed the need for meaningful outcomes from the ongoing conference on the two-state solution. Ties between Islamabad and Dhaka have witnessed a notable thaw since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's government in August last year, which had long maintained a tough posture on Pakistan over historical grievances. The change in government in Dhaka has allowed for more pragmatic and forward-looking engagement between the two South Asian Muslim-majority nations. Last week, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Dhaka, where he held talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Lt Gen (R) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury. The two sides reached a landmark agreement to grant visa-free entry to holders of diplomatic and official passports – a move widely seen as symbolic of growing mutual trust and a step toward easing travel restrictions for future trade and official exchanges. With regional dynamics shifting, particularly in light of China's rising influence and the decline of traditional regional groupings such as SAARC, Pakistan and Bangladesh appear to be recalibrating their foreign policy strategies. Both countries are now exploring issue-based cooperation focused on development, trade and strategic autonomy, moving beyond historical baggage. The recent engagements also reflect Pakistan's broader diplomatic push to reconnect with South Asian neighbours, strengthen Muslim world solidarity and project a more constructive role in regional diplomacy. Since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government, Bangladesh's interim administration has removed restrictions on Pakistani diplomats and imports, giving a fresh impetus to bilateral ties.