Pakistan, Aug. 17 -- The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) announced on Sunday that it was taking the initiative to approach other parties to begin a "grand national dialogue" on the creation of new provinces in the country.

MQM-P Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui made the announcement at a press conference in Karachi, where he stressed the need for a grand national dialogue on the matter.

He said his party had been contending that the creation of existing provinces in Pakistan did not meet all legal merits and had a linguistic basis.

"We have been saying for the past 40 years [.] that Pakistan's existing provinces were not created in accordance with all merits of law and were made on linguistic grounds," he said, adding that...