Prime Minister’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah said Parliament would debate the issue if a proposal to create new provinces was formally presented.
Speaking to senior journalists in Lahore, Sanaullah said supporters of new provinces may have held talks with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). However, he said the party could not support a proposal that it had not introduced itself.
He said the issue was still some time away from reaching Parliament. Once presented, lawmakers would be free to express their views, while Parliament could also refer the matter to a committee or standing committee for further consideration.
Sanaullah estimated that the debate over new provinces could take six to eight months. He said discussions could also expand to the creation of new administrative units and local government elections.
He made it clear that the PML-N had not launched the proposal to divide existing provinces. He said the party’s position remained unchanged and added that the PML-N’s Punjab leadership did not support including Bahawalpur in a larger South Punjab province.
According to Sanaullah, some proposals call for Bahawalpur to become a separate province, while others suggest keeping it linked with Lahore. He said the PML-N had so far not made any major announcement supporting the division of provinces.
Sanaullah also claimed that the Pakistan Peoples Party had benefited politically from the provinces issue. He said President Asif Ali Zardari had backed the canal project, but the government stopped it after protests from the public.
Commenting on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Sanaullah said back-channel contacts with party founder Imran Khan could be taking place. However, he said anyone choosing that path would have to accept its political cost.
He accused the PTI of planning to march towards Islamabad with weapons. He also alleged that Fitna al-Khawarij, which he claimed was backed by India, could attack a PTI gathering to create tensions between the government and the public. He predicted that the PTI protest would fail.
Sanaullah said he would ask the federal interior minister to respond if he raised the issue in the cabinet or Senate.
He also rejected Federal Minister Sheikh Qaiser’s claim that he had not met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Sanaullah said Sheikh Qaiser met the prime minister every other day in his presence and questioned the minister’s objections.
Sanaullah said some issues require discussion before public statements are made, adding that every matter cannot be made public immediately.
