Karachi’s long-running grievance over funding and representation returned to the headlines this week after MQM-Pakistan leader Syed Mustafa Kamal announced a new street movement to reclaim Karachi’s rights. Speaking at a press conference in Bahadurabad, the Federal Minister for Health said the city has been shortchanged for nearly two decades and argued that creating new provinces is now the only realistic way forward.
What Mustafa Kamal Said About Karachi’s Funding
Kamal told reporters that Karachi generates more than half of Pakistan’s total revenue and close to all of Sindh’s income, yet the city has received only a small fraction of that money back over the past eighteen years. He put the shortfall at roughly two thousand billion rupees, money he said should have gone toward roads, schools and hospitals. He was blunt about his intent, telling the audience the party was not making an emotional appeal but presenting figures.
He also said Karachi used to receive funds directly from the federal government until 2010, after which the arrangement shifted so that money passed through the provincial government first, a change he blames for the city’s decline.
A List of Grievances Against the Sindh Government
Kamal used the press conference to lay out a string of complaints about public services in Sindh, including:
•Thousands of government schools without washrooms, including girls’ schools.
•Children reportedly dying after falling into open gutters.
•A high number of child deaths from dog bites compared to other provinces.
•Communities that have gone without piped water for a generation.
•Job seekers allegedly denied opportunities even under the official quota system.
He contrasted Sindh’s slow progress with Lahore, saying Punjab’s capital has moved decades ahead of Karachi, and pointed to the introduction of bicycle ambulances in Sindh as evidence of how far behind the province has fallen in public health infrastructure.
Why MQM-P Wants New Provinces
Kamal argued that Pakistan’s current four-province structure is no longer workable and said dividing the country into smaller administrative units would bring governance closer to citizens. He linked this demand to the 18th Constitutional Amendment, saying its promise of devolving power to the grassroots level has never been properly carried out. He stressed that MQM-P intends to pursue these demands through parliamentary and constitutional means, alongside public demonstrations.
He further claimed that funds allegedly diverted from Sindh have ended up fueling property investment in Dubai, and he raised the case of mothers in Khairpur who were baton charged while protesting the disappearance of their children.
Conclusion
Mustafa Kamal’s press conference has reignited a decades-old debate about how Pakistan divides resources between its federating units and largest city. Whether or not the call for new provinces gains traction, the underlying complaint, that Karachi’s revenue does not translate into visible development, is likely to remain a central issue in Sindh’s politics for the foreseeable future.
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