PPP has opposed any move towards dividing existing provinces or altering their geographical boundaries
ISLAMABAD:
The President House on Friday rejected media reports claiming that President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi discussed the creation of new provinces during their meeting in Nawabshah a night earlier, clarifying that the discussions centred on national security and the regional situation.
“There is no truth to media reports suggesting that matters concerning the provinces were discussed during the interior minister’s meeting with the president,” the President House said in a statement.
“Matters concerning national security and the regional situation were discussed during the meeting. However, no discussion took place on matters related to provinces,” the statement added.
The clarification comes amid a growing political debate over Naqvi’s proposal to create new provinces or administrative units, which has drawn opposition from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a key coalition partner of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government at the Centre.
The absence of an official account of Thursday night’s meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi prompted speculation over whether the two had discussed the contentious question of creating new provinces, an issue that has increasingly figured in the country’s political discourse.
Naqvi has repeatedly advocated administrative restructuring in recent months, arguing that the existing governance framework had “collapsed” and required a fundamental “reset”.
His proposal has since triggered a wider political debate, particularly among the ruling coalition partners.
Earlier this week, the interior minister renewed his call for creating new provinces or administrative units, proposing a referendum to establish public sentiment on the matter.
He maintained that a public vote offered the most appropriate way to resolve the debate and that the outcome should be respected.
However, the proposal has met stiff resistance from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which governs Sindh and is a key ally of the PML-N-led coalition at the Centre, alongside the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).
The PPP has opposed any move towards dividing existing provinces or altering their geographical boundaries.
