The Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, has said any decision on the province’s status or territorial integrity rests solely with the Sindh Assembly, rejecting calls for its division.
Addressing the provincial assembly on Monday, Murad Ali Shah said the House had repeatedly opposed the division of Sindh through resolutions passed in 1948, 2000, 2014, 2019 and 2026.
‘The decision regarding Sindh’s division will not be made by businessmen in Lahore, courts, public gatherings, television seminars, or any other forum. It is the elected representatives in the Sindh Assembly who will debate and decide the matter,” he said.
Murad Ali Shah noted that his government had allowed a broader debate on the issue by bringing an adjournment motion, which under parliamentary rules takes precedence over ordinary business and allows the House to suspend routine proceedings to discuss an issue of public importance.
“The outcome of this debate is already clear-Sindh will never be divided,” he said.
He said the motion required the support of at least 34 members and that the opposition was free to bring one if it wanted to debate the division of the province.
However, he remarked that the opposition lacked the courage to table a resolution supporting the division of Sindh.
CM Sindh said the Assembly should hear arguments from both sides and take the debate to its conclusion.
He invoked constitutional principles to argue that state authority is exercised through elected representatives, saying the provincial legislature was the institution empowered to represent the will of the people of Sindh.
“The elected representatives of Sindh will decide Sindh’s future,” he said.
He also highlighted Sindh’s historical role in the creation of Pakistan, noting that the Pakistan Resolution had been endorsed by the province’s representative institution.
The Chief Minister said the Pakistan Peoples Party would continue to defend the unity and integrity of Sindh. “As long as PPP members are present in this House, Sindh will remain a united province,” he declared.
He added that calls for the division of Sindh would be answered by the provincial assembly and that, if necessary, the House could pass another resolution rejecting any such proposal.
He recalled that a resolution against the division of Sindh had already been adopted in February this year, while members holding opposing views had also been given the opportunity to express their stance on the Assembly floor.
Concluding his remarks, the Chief Minister said the debate could continue for as long as required to ensure a thorough discussion, but reiterated that the final outcome would remain unchanged.
“Sindh will remain one province, united and indivisible,” he asserted.
