Bilawal throws down gauntlet to Naqvi

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Wednesday that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was entitled to express his views on the creation of new provinces, but stressed that the issue should be debated in parliament rather than at business forums.

Speaking to reporters in London, where he is visiting with his father, President Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal acknowledged that he and Naqvi could hold differing views on the matter. “Mohsin Naqvi will be speaking in his own voice, and I speak in my own voice. Mohsin Naqvi has the right to express his opinion,” he said.

On the creation of new provinces, particularly in Sindh, Bilawal reiterated his call for the matter to be brought before the National Assembly. “As I have answered this question before, my thinking is that this issue should be debated in the National Assembly,” he said.

“And Mohsin Naqvi rarely comes to the National Assembly, so instead of coming to business forums, Mohsin Naqvi should come to parliament. There should be a debate on this in parliament,” Bilawal remarked.

Bilawal also expressed his willingness to discuss the matter directly with government representatives. However, he maintained that the discussion should focus on longstanding problems within the country’s system rather than being reduced to competing political positions.

“What are the problems in the system, what are the faults in the system, what are the issues in the system — these problems are not new; historically, these issues have existed,” he said. “In my view, there should be an open debate on ... what causes the system to collapse, and what their solutions should be.”

Bilawal said Naqvi was entitled to his position, but maintained that such issues should be discussed in parliament by elected representatives speaking for the people.

The proposal by Naqvi in July drew strong reactions from government ministers, while the country’s leading lawyers’ bodies adopted divergent positions.

On Tuesday last, the Sindh Assembly Secretariat also sent letters to the principal secretaries to the president and prime minister, and to the Senate and National Assembly, informing them about the resolution.

Meanwhile, two days after the resolution was passed, Naqvi doubled down on his demand for new provinces.

“New administrative units will eventually have to be created as Pakistan’s growing population and changing needs can no longer be effectively managed through the existing administrative structure,” said the minister, who is considered close to the powers that be.