Mustafa Kamal Pushes New Administrative Units at Karachi MQM-P Rally

KARACHI: MQM-Pakistan senior leader and Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has renewed his party's demand for additional administrative units, arguing that restructuring governance would allow local governments to be strengthened and public services to be managed more effectively. He made the remarks while addressing a large MQM-P gathering at Aftab Ground in Karachi's Orangi Town on Sunday night.

Kamal said creating new provinces or administrative units was neither unconstitutional nor an act of disloyalty, pointing to constitutional provisions allowing changes through parliament. He argued that Pakistan's Constitution has already undergone numerous amendments and maintained that another amendment could be pursued if political consensus and the required parliamentary majority were secured.

The MQM-P leader linked the demand to longstanding complaints about Karachi's population count, municipal authority and access to public resources. He said his party continued to dispute the city's official census figures and accused the existing provincial governance structure of failing to provide adequate water, education, healthcare and employment opportunities. His allegations about provincial administration reflected MQM-P's political position and were not independently substantiated in the report.

Kamal also criticised the quota system and alleged misuse of domicile documents in government recruitment. He said Karachi residents faced difficulties obtaining basic services despite the city's economic importance and claimed that inadequate local authority had contributed to problems involving water supply, schools, hospitals and urban infrastructure. He urged supporters to continue political mobilisation for greater municipal and administrative powers.

Referring to constitutional reform efforts, Kamal said MQM-P had previously sought stronger constitutional protection for local governments but encountered opposition from the Pakistan Peoples Party. He claimed the federal government had also asked MQM-P to step back from some proposals during negotiations over earlier constitutional amendments because broader parliamentary support was required. The source report did not include an immediate PPP or federal government response to those assertions.

Kamal also addressed the recent fire tragedy at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad in which 14 infants died. He expressed grief over the deaths and broadened his remarks to Pakistan's child and maternal health challenges, arguing that political parties should jointly address preventable deaths linked to malnutrition, unsafe water and weaknesses in healthcare. He said improving basic health and public services should become a national priority rather than a partisan issue.

The federal minister announced that MQM-P plans further public gatherings as part of its political campaign. He said a rally would be held in the Sohrab Goth area on September 27 with a focus on engaging the Pashtun community, while the party also plans political activities in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Larkana. The announcements indicate that MQM-P intends to expand its campaign beyond its traditional urban strongholds while keeping administrative restructuring at the centre of its message.

The rally comes as debates over provincial authority, local government powers and resource distribution remain politically sensitive in Sindh. MQM-P's next steps are expected to include additional rallies and efforts to build support for constitutional changes, while any formal creation of new administrative units would require a complex parliamentary and constitutional process. Attention will now turn to how the PPP, other political parties and the federal government respond as MQM-P intensifies its campaign.