Parliament to decide on creating new provinces: Sanaullah

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said the debate over the creation of new provinces should take place in Parliament and a referendum could be held with the approval of the legislature.

Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Sanaullah said, “The decision of whether any province will be created or not will be made in Parliament, and by Parliament,” adding that if a referendum were to be conducted to seek public opinion, it would also require approval by the National Assembly (NA).

“The outcome will also emerge in Parliament,” he emphasised.

He opined that the matter could be resolved in a proper manner if all the political parties and provincial leaders deliberated on it.

Sanauallah also revealed that intra-party discussions were underway to determine PML-N’s unified stance on the formation of new provinces.

He said the PML-N would participate in the debate when the issue was brought up for discussion in Parliament and that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would also express his views on the floor.

Sanaullah said that statements and speeches on the issue through different forums had not helped improve the situation and that the matter should be taken to the lower house for deliberation. He also stated that the matter was not fit for discussion on an economic forum.

“When this debate comes to Parliament, all parties will be able to present their positions,” he added.

He said that if he himself declared that provinces would or would not be created, he would be bypassing Parliament.

Sanaullah said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had “overreacted” to the issue, adding that no federal minister had so far raised the matter in the cabinet or Parliament.

Read: Debate on new provinces to be held in next session of National Assembly, Senate in October: Tariq Fazal

Speaking about the strain in ties between the PPP and PML-N, Sanaullah said the bitterness between the parties developed during the Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections had considerably decreased.

He said a recent bi-party meeting was attended by senior leadership from the PPP and PML-N.

“An understanding has been reached between them.”

He suggested that such meetings should ideally be held every month, and that the latest meeting had taken place after a gap of two to three months.

When probed about his views on Jamaat-e-Islami’s protest over petrol prices, Sanaullah said, “The prime minister wants petrol prices to decrease more than Jamaat-e-Islami does.”

However, he noted that sit-ins and long marches are within constitutional and legal bounds and hoped the political activities would remain peaceful.

“They have never been violent during their political activities.”

He revealed that the government had requested the party to postpone the protest for “two weeks” during a meeting that took place yesterday.

Sanaullah urged Jamaat-e-Islami not to put itself in a difficult spot.

“The government is considering ways to offer relief to the public in the form of subsidies or other methods,” he said during the presser.

Reiterating the explanation given by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik regarding escalating petrol prices, Sanaullah said the increase in prices of petroleum products was a consequence of the US-Iran war. He said the country has pushed for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict.

Referring to statements given by certain elements in the PTI about going to Islamabad and bringing down the system, he said there were also reports that some people attending the gathering could be armed. He said people involved in terrorist activities in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa also intended to take advantage of the unrest.

“Those whose intentions are not peaceful must be stopped by law-enforcement agencies.”

Speaking on intra-party matters, Sanaullah said a meeting of the Punjab PML-N wing had been called during which inactive office-bearers would be replaced and vacant positions filled.

He said the process would be completed within the next 30 days.

Sanaullah also revealed that the Punjab government was planning to conduct local government elections.