By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi has urged political parties to put the creation of new provinces to a public referendum, saying he would abandon the idea if voters rejected it.
Speaking to reporters at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Lahore on Thursday, the independent senator called a referendum the “solution” to a row he has driven since the summer.
He said every party had the right to disagree with another, but that all of them professed faith in democracy and the supremacy of the public.
“My only request to all political parties is that this is such an issue […] so they should hold a referendum,” he said.
“Whatever the public’s opinion in the referendum is; if the public says [new units] should not be created, I am 100 percent with them that they should not be created. [But], if the public says they should be made, then they should.”
Naqvi acknowledged that the parties were divided, with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) “having its own stance [and] some parties having their own stance while not saying anything officially”. He said any better proposal should also be put before the people.
He sought to reassure members of the ruling coalition. “Everyone is a part of this government, and nothing will happen against their will, and if something does happen, then it will be after taking everyone’s consensus,” he said. He also dismissed talk on social media that differences would emerge among coalition partners. “My only recommendation is that if we were to conclude this debate, then we should just take the people’s opinion.”
The minister first called for new administrative units at the Pakistan Economic Summit in July, when he said the country’s system of governance had “collapsed” and needed a “reset”. The remarks drew a sharp response, including from the Sindh chief minister, Murad Ali Shah, who rejected the assessment. The coalition government ministers including Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has since added to the debate by backing the creation of 12 more provinces.
Naqvi has previously said that any new units would be formed only with public consent. But whether a referendum can deliver that is contested. Constitutional experts have noted that a vote would not itself create a province. Rana Sanaullah, an adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said in September that a referendum would need the approval of parliament and could not be called by the government alone.
The PPP, which governs Sindh and is a partner of the PML-N government at the centre, has strongly opposed the creation of a new province within Sindh. It maintains that any decision must go through constitutional and parliamentary channels with political consensus.
Naqvi claims he and Bhutto-Zardari “nearly on same page”
Asked about recent remarks by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Naqvi said the two were “nearly on the same page”.
“He (Bhutto-Zardari) said that political matters are about to be reset, while my suggestion is that overall matters are about to be reset,” Naqvi said.
Bhutto-Zardari said on Tuesday that all political parties must unite for the sake of the country rather than indulge in “unnecessary debates”, and he called for a “political reset”. He also questioned the need for “new experiments” when the country faced much bigger challenges, particularly the economic crisis arising from tensions in the Middle East.
His appeal followed harsh exchanges between federal ministers and the veteran politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who has since decided to strengthen his ties with the opposition.
The two men are not entirely aligned on provinces. In September Bhutto-Zardari called for a parliamentary debate on the question. “So instead of [speaking at] business forums, Mohsin Naqvi should visit [Parliament],” he said, an apparent reference to the minister’s July speech.
“Corruption exists across entire Pakistan”
Naqvi was also asked about recent remarks by the federal minister Chaudhry Salik over alleged corruption in Punjab.
“If someone is saying that no corruption is taking place in Pakistan, then apologies but corruption exists across the entire Pakistan, and it is our (state’s) responsibility to end it,” he said. He stressed the importance of highlighting corruption where it existed.
Naqvi acknowledged that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had serious corruption problems. He said action had been taken against officials involved in wrongdoing, including within the interior ministry, and that he and the minister of state for interior, Talal Chaudhry, were taking strict measures, though cases kept emerging. Five major cases involving the CDA were being pursued, he said, and he cited the NCCIA’s arrest of a Grade-17 government officer.
Naqvi also defended a CDA notice relating to the Islamabad residence of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief.
“This (CDA) campaign has been ongoing for months, and it is not against a certain individual,” he said.
The notice, dated 30 October, ordered the removal within 15 days of a security guards’ cabin and a generator on CDA land and cited an additional kitchen as a building violation. It came days after Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s sharp criticism of the PML-N-led government.
Naqvi said between 5,000 and 6,000 people had received notices in the campaign. He expressed concern over extensive encroachment on government land in Islamabad and said those affected had legal remedies available.
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