PakistanFeatureFrom the pages of history
Karachi Should Be Declared a Separate Province, Miss Fatima Jinnah’s 1957 Demand
During the One Unit era, on April 16, 1957, a delegation of Karachi Front met Madar-e-Millat Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah and demanded that Karachi be given provincial status, to which she said that Karachi should be a separate province.
It was April 16, 1957. The country was under the One Unit system, and Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy was the country's prime minister. In those days, a few leaders of East Pakistan's elected leadership were angry over the distribution of resources, and Karachi, being the capital, was coming under criticism.
During this period, an organisation called Karachi Front was active in safeguarding Karachi's interests and was in contact with national leaders to resolve issues. In this connection, a delegation of Karachi Front met Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, sister of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and demanded that Karachi be given provincial status.
“My viewpoint on this matter is clear. I had said last year that Karachi should be declared a separate province. The capital Karachi has an equal right belonging to both the eastern and western parts of Pakistan, and Karachi should remain separate.”
According to the source text, the founder of Pakistan's younger sister, Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, was born on July 31, 1894, in the same house in Karachi where the Quaid-e-Azam was born. However, it should be noted that according to several credible historical references, the year of her birth is given as 1893, not 1894, and this discrepancy deserves readers' attention.
This incident occurred at a time when, after the imposition of One Unit (1955), tensions were rising between East and West Pakistan over the distribution of resources and powers, and debate over Karachi's status had been ongoing ever since it was given the status of federal capital in 1948. The demand to make Karachi a separate province remains under discussion in political circles even today, though the Sindh Assembly has rejected this proposal on several occasions.
Sources
- Documentسلیم اللہ صدیقی کی تحریر16 اپریل 1957 کے واقعے پر مبنی تحریر جس میں کراچی فرنٹ کے وفد اور مادرِ ملت کی ملاقات کی تفصیل دی گئی ہے۔
- Public recordSaleemullah Siddiqui
