ISLAMABAD: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) political party on Sunday criticized the Sindh provincial government for adopting a resolution in the provincial assembly against the creation of new provinces, describing it as “illegal, unconstitutional.”

The resolution was adopted on Saturday after fresh demands by the MQM-P and other voices to grant Karachi a provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by a deadly mall fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.

Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city that is home to more than 20 million, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.

Speaking at a press conference, MQM-P’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the Constitution of Pakistan provided procedure for establishing new provinces, but a province had “carried itself as if it were a separate country,” referring to Saturday’s resolution.

“Anything in contrast with the constitution cannot be adopted. This is illegal, unconstitutional, undemocratic,” he said, calling for a referendum in urban areas of Sindh for the establishment of a new administrative unit in the region.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had tabled the resolution in the assembly on Saturday, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.

“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries.

“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.

The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.

Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.

Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM-P member, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.

“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News on Saturday. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”