DALLAS, Texas: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Chairman and Federal Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has said that the creation of new provinces has become necessary in view of Pakistan’s growing population and that the country also needs a strong third tier of government to ensure that the benefits of democracy reach ordinary citizens.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Geo News during his visit to Dallas, Siddiqui discussed the demand for new provinces, Karachi’s political and administrative status, the role of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Sindh, the MQM-P’s vote bank, internal divisions within the party and questions surrounding the post-Altaf Hussain political order.
On the issue of new provinces, Siddiqui rejected the suggestion that the debate was merely political noise. He argued that, just as new districts and divisions are created with population growth, the number of provinces should also increase.
He said Pakistan required an effective third tier of government, alongside the federal and provincial structures, so that local communities could exercise meaningful authority over their own affairs.
Siddiqui also criticised the existing provincial structure, saying that administrative divisions based on linguistic identities had contributed to polarisation and widened social and political divisions.
Referring to Karachi, he said the city had once served as Pakistan’s federal capital and questioned the historical and constitutional process through which it later became part of Sindh. He argued that such issues should be addressed through democratic and constitutional means and with public participation.
Turning to the PPP, the MQM-P chief said the party was neither the “contractor of democracy” nor the “owner of Sindh”. He described the prevailing political system in the province as feudal in character and said Karachi remained the economic engine not only of Sindh but of the country.
“Karachi runs, and the whole country is sustained. A conspiracy against Karachi is, in fact, a conspiracy against Pakistan,” he said.
Asked whether the MQM had lost its former political strength after a series of splits, Siddiqui rejected the premise of the question. He said political movements were not necessarily divided merely because individual leaders parted ways, so long as workers and voters remained united.
He claimed that 80 to 90% of MQM workers were still together and that those who had moved away under pressure could return once, in his words, “the coercion ends”.
On the 2018 general elections, he alleged that the MQM had been deprived of a number of seats through electoral manipulation.
When asked directly whether the “minus-Altaf Hussain” formula had worked, Siddiqui avoided a direct reference to Hussain and instead described the MQM as an ideological movement rather than a dynastic political party.
“This was never a political dynasty. It was an ideological party. It belongs to the workers, and the workers are running it,” he said.
Siddiqui also strongly rejected allegations that the MQM-P’s recent electoral victories were the product of Form 47 manipulation.
He said the party had been winning elections in Karachi for four decades and added that those disputing the results should seek legal remedies through the courts.
“Our identity is not Form 47. Our identity is 1947,” he said.
The tone of the interview became sharper when questions turned to the MQM’s internal divisions, its separation from Hussain and the party’s present electoral standing.
Siddiqui defended the MQM-P’s political position and maintained that his party’s support base remained intact despite years of internal fragmentation and political pressure.
