Smokers’ Corner: A Separate Province for Karachi?

Karachi’s future has long been framed by a stark question: should Pakistan’s largest city remain part of Sindh, become a separate province, or come under federal control?

The Pakistan Peoples Party argues that Karachi is the heart of Sindh. Parties associated with the Urdu-speaking Mohajir population, especially the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, take the opposite view. They say the city is neglected because it does not have a Sindhi majority, and they portray the PPP as a “Sindhi party.”

That label sits uneasily with the PPP’s broader political history. Until 2008, the party maintained an impressive vote bank in Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province. It is also currently the ruling party in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, as well as Sindh.

Political support among Karachi’s Mohajir population is spread mainly across the MQM, Jamaat-i-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. Many in that community believe the city can improve only if it gains provincial status of its own or is placed under federal control. Most political commentators describe the dispute as a conflict between Sindhis and Mohajirs.