KARACHI, Jan 8: Weighing in on the ongoing debate on the need for new provinces in the country, Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain on Sunday proposed that a province comprising the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) be created in addition to the Hazara and Seraiki provinces. The province should be called “Qabaelistan”.

Though his party has submitted a resolution in the parliament for the creation of the Hazara and Seraiki provinces by carving out territories from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, Mr Hussain rejected any division of Sindh along the same lines.

He said the government should not just heed the demands of the Hazara and Seraiki people but also those of the “oppressed people of Fata”.

In his telephonic address to a gathering of notables of the Balochi, Sindhi, Brohi, Kachhi and Pakhtun communities assembled in the Lal Qila ground, he said the people of Sindh didn’t want to divide Sindh. “If there are any problems in Sindh, the sons of its soil will resolve them amongst themselves and will never divide their land.”

Mr Hussain said that in 1972 some feudal lords had tried to pit the poor Sindhis against the Urdu-speaking Sindhis. “Today also some unscrupulous elements are conspiring to pit the Urdu-speaking people against the Balochi and Brohi people.”

He urged all the communities living in Sindh to remain united and protect each other against the conspiracies of the feudal lords.

The MQM chief asked Sindh governor and the provincial ministers belonging to his party to spend at least 10 per cent of their funds on the development of Malir and other underdeveloped areas in and around Karachi. He also urged the government to curtail expenditures to help improve the economy.

In a separate message, Mr Hussain assured the chief of the Fata Grand Alliance, Malik Khan Marjan, of his complete support.
He said his party would raise its voice for the creation of “Qabaelistan” at every forum, including the parliament.