ISLAMABAD
\nAdviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said that a referendum on the creation of new provinces will be held if approved by a joint session of parliament. During his interaction with journalists in Lahore, Sanaullah said that parliament was the best forum for discussing the creation of new provinces.
\nHis remarks echoed those of Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, who said that parliamentary debate on the creation of new provinces would be held in October. \u201cThe matter of new provinces has not yet been brought before the cabinet,\u201d Sanaullah said, adding that his party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was still consulting on its position over the matter.
\nHe said the PML-N would issue its policy statement when the issue was brought before parliament. \u201cThe matter of whether provinces should be created or not has to be decided by parliament,\u201d Sanaullah added. The PML-N leader said that the issue would move in a better direction once it came before parliament, where all political parties would present their positions.
\n\u201cParliamentary decisions will be accepted by all parties,\u201d he added. He said the PML-N would also consider the views of its district and union council workers while finalising its position. Sanaullah also claimed that tensions between the PML-N and PPP had eased considerably following differences that emerged during the recent Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections.
\n\u201cThings between the PPP and PML-N will be resolved in a better manner,\u201d hoped Sanaullah. He also said the PML-N wanted petroleum product prices to come down, while urging Jamaat-e-Islami to postpone its proposed long march by one or two weeks. Sanaullah hoped that the JI\u2019s long march would be peaceful.
\nWithout naming Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he said that another political party\u2019s planned long march would not be peaceful \u201cLaw enforcement agencies have a duty to stop those whose intentions were not peaceful. Political parties should adopt a political approach; otherwise they will suffer,\u201d he added.
\nThe PML-N leader said rising prices were linked to the ongoing war between the United States and Iran, adding that Pakistan was not responsible for the increase in prices. Sanaullah said the Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi\u2019s speeches, statements and discussions on various forums had not brought any improvement.
\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. On 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. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said that a referendum on the creation of new provinces will be held if approved by a joint session of parliament. During his interaction with journalists in Lahore, Sanaullah said that parliament was the best forum for discussing the creation of new […]<\/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-567063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n