Leaders from Awami Tehreek and Sindhiyani Tehreek issued a stark warning on Friday, vowing to strongly resist a proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment, which they described as a conspiracy to divide Sindh that could push Pakistan towards conditions similar to the 1971 dismemberment of the country.
Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, the leadership, including President Awami Tehreek Advocate Vasand Thari and Umrah Samoo, President Sindhiyani strongly denounced the purported plan as “an attack on the country.” They detailed that the proposed amendment reportedly includes provisions for creating new provinces, altering the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, and implementing a new local-government framework.
The leaders accused the current PML-N and PPP coalition government of undermining the state institutions, claiming that the recent 26th and 27th Amendments have rendered the superior judiciary “ineffective and paralysed.” They asserted that actions such as the PECA Act and the establishment of the SIFC have imposed a “democratic martial law.”
Specific allegations were leveled against the MQM, whose leaders, they claimed, have been brought back into politics to campaign for the province’s partition.
A Lahore-based media owner, Mian Aamir Mehmood, was also accused of being tasked with running a media campaign to support the creation of new provinces, a tactic the speakers compared to a similar campaign supporting the Kalabagh Dam during General Musharraf”s tenure.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership faced severe criticism for what was termed a history of betraying Sindh’s interests. The political leaders alleged that the PPP has repeatedly compromised on the province’s water rights, supported the takeover of Sindh’s islands, and approved decisions detrimental to its natural resources, such as the cutting of the Karoonjhar mountains.
It was also noted that the provincial government filed cases against 500 workers following a protest march in Hyderabad on November 16. The leaders expressed their resolve to continue their struggle, stating they would not be intimidated by such actions.
Broader grievances regarding resource allocation were aired, with claims that Punjab’s rulers have systematically plundered the Indus River for over a century through the unilateral construction of dams and canals.
The leaders voiced strong opposition to a corporate farming initiative, stating that 1.3 million acres of Sindh’s land are being handed over to multinational corporations. They alleged that President Asif Zardari personally approved six new canals from the Indus River on July 8, 2024, to facilitate this project, which they described as a conspiracy to dispossess the local population.
The press conference also highlighted what they see as a deliberate demographic shift in Karachi, which they called an “international orphanage.” They demanded the expulsion of all illegal foreigners from the city and the entire country, in line with a Supreme Court order, and called for ownership rights to be granted to the residents of Karachi’s indigenous villages.
Concluding their address, the leaders announced that Awami Tehreek and Sindhiyani Tehreek will hold a protest rally in Larkana on December 21. They appealed to the public to join their peaceful movement against the constitutional amendments and for the rule of law, judicial freedom, and the restoration of democracy.