PML-N's Rana Sanaullah says Parliament to decide on more provinces

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…