KARACHI: The Sindh government’s decision to carve out another district in Karachi on Thursday attracted strong criticism from major political parties of the city which called the move an attempt to divide the metropolis on ethnic lines and strengthen the political position of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which could lead to “disastrous consequences”.

The strongest reactions came from three major parties which had the experience of running Karachi’s administrative affairs — Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), Jamaat-i-Islami and Pak-Sarzameen Party — while the PPP’s arch-rival, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), which had won the largest mandate in the city in the 2018 elections, also condemned the move.

The MQM-P called the PPP government move “vandalism” and warned that the creation of the new district would be considered a move to annul the city’s metropolitan corporation status. In a statement, the coordination committee of the party while condemning the decision, said the PPP was promoting ethnic feelings and the decision could further harm its administrative affairs.

“The PPP, for its political gains and vested interests, has divided Karachi on ethnic lines,” said the statement. “This conspiracy has been hatched to annul the status of the metropolitan corporation of Karachi. Only to keep its dying politics alive, the PPP has brought Karachi to the verge of total collapse. The PPP actually is exploiting and staging all this vandalism on the basis of fake majority in the Sindh Assembly.”

The statement said that Karachi’s administrative affairs and local bodies system were already paralysed through the six-district system and now the fresh move was made to give breathing space to the PPP, which had already lost ground in the city due to its “bad governance and corruption”.

They see it as a move to further divide the city on ethnic lines

Former city mayor and founding chief of the PSP Mustafa Kamal called the PPP move “a dangerous game” being staged on ethnic grounds which would only trigger hatred and cause irreparable damage. He warned the Sindh rulers to review their decision before it’s too late and the city’s politics and peace both fall prey to ethnic hatred.

“We came with the message of peace and buried the politics of ethnicity,” said Mr Kamal while speaking at a press conference at the party’s office following the Sindh government announcement. “The PPP is giving a new life to that hatred and politics of violence. I warn the PPP leadership that they are in fact initiating the process of dividing Sindh. This move would lead to violence and bloodbath. This should stop here otherwise, it would cost everyone dearly.”

The JI, which had run the city’s local government through its elected mayor and city council, saw the PPP move as “a game” before the upcoming local bodies’ polls.

JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rahman said that the district would bring no change in the lives of the people of Karachi and it was only a “manoeuvre” before the local bodies’ polls.

“It’s a history of the PPP government in Sindh that it always plays a game and manoeuvres things before any elections,” he said in a statement. “The fresh move is reflective of the same history. The party has lost its credibility in Karachi and other parts of Sindh. Their survival lies in fanning ethnic hatred, manoeuvring things before elections and exploitation of their power and misuse of authority. Despite all conspiracies, lies and corruption will never last long.”

The PTI, which had won the majority mandate in Karachi in the 2018 elections, also opposed the move.

PTI Karachi president and a member of the Sindh Assembly Khurram Sher Zaman “condemned” the decision to further divide Karachi and called the people of the province to come out and protest vigorously.

“This decision of the Sindh government should have been taken in consultation with the stakeholders of Karachi. What kind of new revolution will come from making Keamari district? South and Malir districts belong to the PPP. Problems in these two districts are more serious than in the other districts. What change will they bring with the formation of the new district?”, he told a press conference.

This decision of the Sindh government, he said, was undemocratic and based on ethnic grounds. He warned that if the Sindh government did not withdraw this decision, the party had options of protest and legal action.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2020