Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has accused the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of adopting “double standards” on the creation of new provinces, arguing that the party supports a Saraiki province in Punjab but raises the issue of Sindhudesh when wider administrative restructuring is proposed.
In a post on X, Asif said the PPP had shown a “soft corner” for the demand for a Saraiki province whenever the matter was raised in Punjab.
However, he said, discussions about creating more than four provinces or new administrative units were followed by calls for Sindhudesh.
“There is something else” behind the PPP’s position, Asif wrote, adding that he will explain the rest “at some point”.
He also stressed that “we are Pakistanis, first and last”.
Asif separately called for the implementation of devolution under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, which transferred several powers from the federal government to the provinces.
He said the constitutional principle had been established but was not being properly observed.
The defence minister argued that Pakistan’s existing system had become outdated because of the concentration of authority and said powers should be transferred to lower levels of government to strengthen democracy at the grassroots.
He suggested that the country’s existing 36 divisions could form the basis of a new administrative arrangement, while leaving open the possibility of another geographical structure.
He described further devolution of power as “inevitable”.
The debate comes amid Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah’s rejection of proposals to create new provinces, with the issue continuing to draw political opposition as calls for administrative restructuring gain momentum.
