Naqvi floats referendum to settle new provinces debate
The interior minister says parties will be taken into confidence before any decision, and that he will oppose the plan if voters reject it.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Thursday that a referendum could settle the debate over creating new provinces or administrative units, and that he would oppose the move himself if the public did not back it. The question goes to whether Pakistan redraws its provincial boundaries, a debate that has run for months.
He was speaking to reporters at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency in Lahore. Dawn reported that he said political parties would be taken into confidence before any such arrangement was made.
Naqvi urged the parties to look at public opinion surveys on the subject, saying the polls showed growing support for new provinces, Business Recorder reported.
Business Recorder also reported him as saying that if the public did not support the proposal, he would oppose it too.
Dawn reported that Naqvi, an independent senator, has pushed the case for new administrative units for months, saying the current system of governance had "collapsed" and needed a "reset".
Asked about PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's call for a political reset, Naqvi said his view matched Bilawal's. "My opinion is the same as Mr Bilawal Bhutto's. The entire system needs to be put right," Business Recorder quoted him as saying.
On notices issued to members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), Naqvi said six or seven people had received them so far and that party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was not among them, according to Business Recorder.
Asked about corruption, he said it would be wrong to claim that corruption did not exist. "With due respect, corruption does exist. Wherever corruption is found, it must be acknowledged and addressed," Business Recorder quoted him as saying.
He also said the PTI founder, Imran Khan, would be given all the legal rights he is entitled to. Dawn reported that Naqvi dismissed speculation about a deal involving the PTI founder, and that he acknowledged widespread corruption amid a controversy over allegations by Salik.
Pakistan Today reported that the minister proposed the referendum and vowed to respect the outcome.
How the reports differ
Dawn's lead report opened on Naqvi's assurance that political parties would be taken into confidence, and it alone reported that he dismissed speculation about a deal involving the PTI founder and that he spoke about corruption against the controversy over Salik's allegations. A second Dawn report gave the venue, the NCCIA office in Lahore, and noted that Naqvi sits in the Senate as an independent. Business Recorder carried the fullest account of his answers, including the comparison with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's reset call, the six or seven JUI-F notices and Maulana Fazlur Rehman not being among the recipients. Pakistan Today's report stayed at headline level, saying he proposed the referendum and vowed to respect the outcome.
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