Tariq Fazal clarifies Islamabad adopting new governance model, not becoming separate province
\n ISLAMABAD
\nFederal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry announced Thursday that parliamentary debate on the creation of new provinces would be held in October.
\nIn a statement, the minister said that the National Assembly and Senate sessions scheduled for that month would provide the appropriate forum for the discussion.
\nHe said no sessions of the National Assembly or Senate were being held in September, but that October sessions would facilitate the debate. \u201cThe real place for the debate on new provinces is Parliament House,\u201d he said.
\nClarifying a separate but related matter, Tariq Fazal said Islamabad was not going to become a new province, but was instead moving toward adopting a new governance model. \u201cThere has been no talk of making Islamabad a separate province,\u201d he said.
\nEarlier on Sept 6, Geo News \u2014 citing sources \u2014 reported that a high-level committee had presented Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with a draft proposal to establish a 27-member elected assembly for Islamabad Capital Territory, complete with a chief executive and 27 administrative departments.
\nThe announcement came amid a growing political debate over Pakistan\u2019s governance structure, with ruling allies Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) appearing divided over the creation of new administrative units or provinces.
\nThe debate was ignited in July by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who said the country\u2019s governance system had \u201ccollapsed\u201d and called for fundamental reforms, arguing Pakistan should move toward new administrative units with greater powers devolved to lower levels.
\nHe later stood by his assessment that the system had been \u201ccompletely destroyed\u201d, while clarifying he was referring to its deterioration over the past 80 years rather than any particular government.
\nOn September 5, Naqvi said the creation of new administrative units should be based on the people\u2019s wishes, describing the moment as requiring a system reset.
\n\u201cReset does not mean breaking down the system. Reset means making wrongs right,\u201d he said, adding that work on new administrative units would only proceed if backed by the people of Pakistan.
\nThe debate subsequently widened when Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal called for a national discussion on Pakistan\u2019s administrative structure and proposed 12 to 15 provinces.
\nHe said an administrative reforms committee should examine possible changes and stressed that any new provinces would require political consensus.
\nIqbal argued that Pakistan\u2019s four provinces had become overly centralised despite devolution under the 18th Amendment, and proposed around 160 empowered district governments as an alternative. He warned that demands for new provinces would grow if meaningful devolution to districts and local governments was not achieved.
\nThe PPP, for its part, opposed taking the proposal further, saying no concrete plan for administrative restructuring had been presented to the party.
\nThe debate has consequently centred on two competing approaches \u2014 redrawing Pakistan\u2019s provincial map or transferring greater powers to districts and local governments within the existing framework.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tariq Fazal clarifies Islamabad adopting new governance model, not becoming separate province ISLAMABAD Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry announced Thursday that parliamentary debate on the creation of new provinces would be held in October. In a statement, the minister said that the National Assembly and Senate sessions scheduled for that month would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n