Asif says consensus on new provinces could come by New Year

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Sunday that a consensus on creating new provinces would change Pakistan's political landscape, and that he expected some shape of the new arrangement before the year ends.

Speaking on Geo News programme "Naya Pakistan" with Shahzad Iqbal, Asif said efforts were under way to bring all political parties on board and that an agreement should not take long. "My personal view is that the New Year will see this new system as well, God willing," he said, according to Geo News. He said about six weeks remained in 2026.

Asif said the leadership of all four provinces should be taken on board whether or not their parties were currently represented in parliament. He described the discussions of recent weeks as positive and said the creation of new administrative units or provinces would not harm anyone's political interests.

He said he did not know what procedure would be adopted to establish new provinces or administrative units, and that the establishment had never asked him to hold discussions on the subject.

Dawn reported that when Asif was asked about reports of discussions to generate a broader consensus on new provinces, referring to two recent high-level meetings involving the president, he replied that he had no inside information on the matter and "even if there was, obviously I cannot spill it".

Asif named former president Asif Ali Zardari, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and other political leaders as making efforts to build consensus, Geo News reported.

He also said the expected political developments could offer incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan a route back to mainstream politics. "If he agrees to this, or if they reach an agreement, then it will provide a window of opportunity for them to return to mainstream politics once this political phase is over," Asif said, according to Geo News. He compared the opportunity to the one the PML-N received during the extension of former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal, an MQM-P leader, said at an event in Karachi that a referendum would be held on the creation of new provinces and called December a crucial month for the move, Geo News reported. He alleged that opponents of new provinces wanted to pit linguistic communities against one another.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has described a referendum as the "best solution" and said all parties, including the PPP and the PML-N, should be taken on board.

Geo News reported that The News had said a proposal to reorganise Pakistan into 12 provinces was under consideration, with Punjab divided into four, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan into three each and Sindh into two. No final decision has been taken on the proposed boundaries, administrative structures or the constitutional process.