Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the establishment of more provinces or administrative units is a national issue and there should be no opposition to it from any quarter.
Speaking to a private media outlet at Parliament House, Khawaja Asif said that he currently had no information about the establishment of administrative units. He added, “Setting up an independent institution in Islamabad was a good idea,” adding that it could be called an assembly, a provincial government or a capital government.
According to Khawaja Asif, such a system exists in several capitals around the world.
The defence minister said that he was not aware of any discussion on the matter within the party and did not know whether Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif had held any meeting about it.
He said that if the federal government was introducing such a system at the federal level, provinces should also follow suit. “There is no reason for hesitation,” Khawaja Asif remarked.
He referred to Afghanistan, pointing out that the country previously had a few provinces but now had 34 or 35. He stated that former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani had told him during a meeting that the expansion of administrative units had improved public service delivery.
Khawaja Asif reiterated that the matter was a national issue and said that there should be no opposition to it from anywhere.
He also said that the use of the word “province” could create confusion among people and suggested that “administrative unit” would be a better term.
The defence minister also stated that the Sindh government was taking a position on the matter and had the right to do so, adding that political interests of any party would not be protected in the process and people of Pakistan should have a service delivery system that allows them to access services at the lowest level.
