President House denies new provinces discussed at Zardari-Naqvi meeting

The President House on Friday rejected media reports that President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi discussed the formation of new provinces at their meeting in Nawabshah, saying the conversation focused on national security and the regional situation.

The meeting was held on Thursday night. According to Dawn, the President House said there was "no truth to media reports suggesting that matters concerning the provinces were discussed" during the interior minister's meeting with the president.

Dawn reported that the clarification came after several media reports claimed Naqvi and the president had discussed forming new provinces at the Nawabshah meeting. No official handout was issued about the meeting, Dawn said.

Minute Mirror carried the same denial and attributed it to a President House spokesperson. The spokesperson said the meeting focused on national security and the evolving regional situation, and specifically stated that no discussions concerning provincial matters took place, the outlet reported.

Pakistan Today led its report with the President House's rejection of the reports on new provinces.

Neither the reports that prompted the clarification nor the President House's statement identified which province or territory the reported proposal concerned. The clarification did not describe the security and regional matters that it said were discussed.

Naqvi's meeting with Zardari in Nawabshah came as the interior minister holds the federal security portfolio, which covers law and order and internal security policy. The President House did not say who else attended the meeting and did not issue a written account of it.