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· collected 2026-09-06 · by Nadeem F. Paracha
The debate over whether Karachi should be separated from the province of Sindh is one of the oldest in Pakistan.
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Karachi → separate → Pakistan
On one side, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) argues that Karachi is the heart of Sindh.
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Karachi → argue → Sindh
On the other side, parties representing the Urdu-speaking Mohajir population, such as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), argue that Karachi is neglected because it does not have a Sindhi majority.
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it → represent → majority
The MQM views the PPP as a ‘Sindhi party’, even though, till 2008, the PPP had an impressive vote bank in the country’s largest province, Punjab, and currently it is the ruling party in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, apart from, of course, Sindh.
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it → view → Sindh
Karachi’s Mohajir population, whose political support is distributed primarily among the MQM, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), believes the city can only improve if it becomes its own separate province or falls under federal control.
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it → distribute → control
Most political commentators describe this as a conflict between Sindhis and Mohajirs.
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commentators → describe → Sindhis
It ignores a crucial factor: millions of non-Mohajir residents living in Karachi are likely to oppose separating the city from Sindh.
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millions → ignore → Sindh
The city’s non-Mohajir groups make up nearly half of the city’s massive population.
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groups → make → population
Their fears and historical experiences explain why plans to create a separate Karachi province will face stiff resistance.
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plans → explain → resistance
It is not Sindhis alone who are resisting the call for separating Karachi from Sindh.
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who → resist → Sindh
The demand for a separate Karachi province is often presented as a battle between a Sindhi provincial administration and Mohajirs.
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demand → present → administration
But the city’s own millions of Pakhtun, Sindhi, Punjabi and Baloch residents as well as other communities have their own reasons to resist the idea
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millions → have → idea
Indeed, while Mohajirs remain the largest single group in the city, Karachi has become far more ethnically diverse over the decades.
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Karachi → remain → decades
According to the 2023 census data, Mohajirs are in majority (50.6 percent), followed by Pakhtuns, Sindhis, Punjabis, Baloch, Seraiki, Hindko, Gujarati and Bengali communities.
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Mohajirs → accord → communities
Together, non-Mohajir ethnic groups make up half of the city’s population.
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groups → make → population
Because of this, any major decision about Karachi’s administrative future directly affects millions of residents who do not identify as Mohajir.
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who → affect → Mohajir
To understand why non-Mohajirs largely fear a separate Karachi, one must look at the history of the city during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
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one → understand → 1980s
Karachi suffered from intense ethnic violence during these decades.
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Karachi → suffer → decades
The MQM rose to power as the dominant political force representing Mohajirs.
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MQM → rise → Mohajirs
At the same time, violent clashes broke out between different ethnic communities.
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clashes → break → communities
The trouble began in earnest in 1985, which triggered a long-running conflict between Pakhtuns and Mohajirs.
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which → begin → Pakhtuns
Over the years, politically backed Mohajirs, Pakhtuns, Sindhis and Baloch fought fierce turf wars over transport routes, real estate, local markets, and government jobs.
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Mohajirs → back → routes
A major flashpoint occurred on May 12, 2007, when political/ethnic violence paralysed the city and left dozens dead in broad daylight.
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violence → occur → daylight
For nearly three decades, non-Mohajir residents in many neighbourhoods lived under constant tension.
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residents → live → tension
They faced political exclusion, strikes and extortion [bhatta].
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They → face → exclusion
Due to these experiences, non-Mohajir communities developed a deep distrust of MQM and its Mohajir constituents.
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communities → develop → MQM
The memory of single-party control over the city streets remains fresh.
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memory → remain → streets
When political leaders propose carving Karachi out of Sindh, non-Mohajir residents do not hear a plan for better infrastructure.
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residents → propose → infrastructure
Instead, they view a ploy to restore Mohajir dominance.
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they → view → dominance
The main fear is that, if Karachi becomes a separate province, local administrative power will fall entirely into the hands of ‘chauvinist’ Mohajir groups.
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power → become → groups
Non-Mohajir residents worry that, without the oversight of the PPP-led Sindh government, they will once again face political marginalisation and localised harassment.
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they → worry → marginalisation
The city’s non-Mohajir groups have many other specific reasons as well for opposing a drastic change.
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groups → have → change
Pakhtuns run transport businesses, small shops and construction services across the city.
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Pakhtuns → run → city
They fear that a Mohajir-led administration would target their businesses, restrict their trade, and bring back extortion networks.
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administration → fear → networks
Punjabi residents fear that political dominance by a single group will lead to violence and market closures.
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dominance → fear → violence
They view separating Karachi as an effort to divide their historical abode and turn them into strangers in their own capital.
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They → view → capital
The Baloch communities fear losing their lands to urban development projects controlled by a Mohajir-dominated local administration.
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communities → fear → administration
Non-Mohajir residents may not be entirely in love with the current PPP-led Sindh government.
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residents → lead → government
But when given a choice between a ‘flawed’ PPP provincial government and a local city government run exclusively by political groups that they view as expressions of Mohajir ‘chauvinism’, they consistently choose the provincial government.
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they → give → government
This insight was used by the PPP to shape its strategy for the 2022 local bodies elections in the city.
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insight → use → city
…and 13 more, not listed.
