PML-N's Asif backs twelve new provinces

Minister rejects ethnic divisions for new units

ISLAMABAD:

Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif has backed the idea of creating new administrative units in the country, but warned that such provinces should not be created on ethnic or political grounds.

Talking to a private news channel on Sunday, the PML-N stalwart said Pakistan's growing population required a more effective system of governance to ensure the provision of public services.

He said, "If there is a proposal for 12 provinces, then make 12 provinces, but do not create them on the basis of language, ethnicity or political interests." He also cited the example of Afghanistan where the number of provinces had been increased from around eight or 10 to more than 30.

The minister said power should not remain concentrated in provincial capitals such as Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar; instead, administrative powers should be transferred to smaller units.

He also criticised the existing distribution of financial resources, saying funds transferred from the Centre remained at the discretion of provincial governments.

He said these funds are ultimately intended for local governments but local governments remain dependent on provincial authorities. The minister also called on politicians to reconsider their approach towards exercising authority, stating that power is a trust bestowed upon politicians by people.

Referring to Pakistan's history, he recalled that the country's provinces had previously been merged under the One Unit scheme during the Ayub era, but the decision was later reversed.

According to some recent reports, a proposal to reorganise Pakistan into 12 provinces was under consideration, with a nationwide referendum envisaged ahead of a possible 28th Constitutional Amendment.

One of the reports claimed that the proposed arrangement could see Punjab divided into four provinces, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan into three each, and Sindh into two.

Last week, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called for an end to the ongoing debate about creating new provinces, stating that the Provincial Assembly of Sindh had opposed the division of the province.

On July 31, Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi while addressing a function in Islamabad claimed that the existing system had failed and needed a "reset" with the creation of new administrative units.

The statement sparked a heated debate with even a number of ministers in the ruling coalition issuing statements both in support and against the idea and even Naqvi

Later, on September 4, the Sindh Assembly passed a resolution rejecting all attempts to divide the province or create new administrative units, with Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah declaring that "there will be no compromise on Sindh's geographical unity."

However, on September 6, Naqvi renewed his call for a "reset" of Pakistan's governance system, insisting that the country needed to restructure its administrative framework.

On October 3, he reiterated his stance, stating that the "country's system was about to be reset".