Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Saturday that Parliament will decide on the matter of creating new provinces.

The recent debate regarding new provinces began in late July when Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called for new provinces as part of reforms to the current governance system, drawing strong reactions from government ministers.

During a press conference in Lahore, Sanaullah was asked about Naqvi’s recent remarks where he said that “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”.

The PML-N leader replied that making such statements at business seminars or conferences had not resulted in any “improvement” in the situation.

“In my humble opinion, this debate should have been started in Parliament,” he said, adding that issues of such magnitude should not be reduced to speeches, social media, seminars or business forums.

“The outcome will also emerge in Parliament,” the PM’s adviser said, adding that the “matter will be resolved in a better direction” when all political parties and the leadership of all provinces discuss it.

“In any circumstance, the decision of whether any province will be created or not will be made in Parliament, and by Parliament,” Sanaullah reiterated.

He also stressed that Naqvi, in his remarks, had said the creation of new provinces depended on whether the public wanted it. “If the public wants, then no one can stop it. The decision of whether the public wants it or not can only be made in Parliament,” the PML-N leader said.

Sanaullah said his party was deliberating upon the matter and will issue a policy statement after participating in the debate and once it “comes to a proper place where a result could emerge”.

The PM’s aide further said that no minister had raised the matter before the federal cabinet so far, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would issue the appropriate directives once the topic is discussed.

He emphasised that even if a referendum were to be held to gauge public opinion, it would require approval by the parliament.

He remarked that the PML-N was not “bound” to issue a statement on the topic of new provinces merely based on economic forums. Referring to the Sindh Assembly’s adoption of a resolution against dividing the province, Sanaullah said the PPP had “overreacted”.

Coalition partners to resolve differences

Speaking on the recent rift between the PPP and the PML-N, the minister said differences between the two parties had, by and large, been resolved.

Sanaullah, who is also a member of the core committees formed to resolve differences between the two major coalition partners, said after attending a meeting at Governor House that any remaining issues would be settled amicably, as both sides were committed to resolving them.

“Ideally, the core committees should meet every month, but this could not happen due to the elections in GB and AJK. Meetings will now hopefully be held more regularly to smooth over any old or new rough patches,” he said.

He attributed the tensions mainly to emotionally charged election campaigns in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, saying the campaigns were now over and so were the frictions.

The PPP, which rules Sindh and is also an ally of the PML-N government at the Centre, has strongly opposed the suggested move to carve out Karachi as a separate province.

PML-N’s Khawaja Asif, who had earlier noted that the appropriate forum for such a discussion was the parliament, said last week that devolution of power was “inevitable”.

The opposition parties, including the PTI, have said they will hold consultations to call an all-parties conference to discuss several issues, including the creation of new provinces, law and order and the economy.

PTI, JI marches to Islamabad

Asked about the plans of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and the PTI to march towards Islamabad on September 20 and 27, respectively, Sanaullah remarked that the JI’s past political activities had been peaceful while the same could not be expected from the PTI.

“Everyone knows that JI is a political party and it has always carried out its activities according to the Constitutional and legal requirements,” he said.

He affirmed that the government “respected” political protests and therefore had held negotiations with the JI during which its representatives “carefully and seriously listened to their demands”.

The PM’s adviser urged JI leaders not to “overwork themselves needlessly” as the PML-N and PM Shehbaz also wanted a reduction in the fuel prices and electricity bills “as much as and even more than JI did”.

On the other hand, Sanaullah said the government had “no expectation” that the PTI’s long march would remain peaceful and referred to remarks made by its leaders.

“If they are coming to Islamabad to overthrow the government and if this is their intention and thinking, then it is obvious that they will carry out violence after coming there,” he asserted.

“Based on these reports, our assessment is that it could be a replay of May 9. If it takes that route and assumes a similar proportion, it would be very unfortunate. Since the matter is also before the courts, the government is awaiting their decisions before finalising its strategy. But one thing is certain: violence cannot be allowed,” he said.

Additional input from Ahmed Faraz