The President House on Friday refuted media reports about yesterday’s meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, saying that discussions focused on national security and regional situation.
The clarification comes after several media reports emerged claiming that Naqvi and the president had discussed the formation of new provinces during a meeting in Nawabshah on Thursday night. No official handout was issued about the meeting.
“There is no truth to media reports suggesting that matters concerning the provinces were discussed during the interior minister’s meeting with the president,” the President House said in a statement.
“Matters concerning national security and the regional situation were discussed during the meeting. However, no discussion took place on matters related to provinces,” the statement added.
The security czar has whipped up a political storm over the past few months since he called for the formation of new administrative units in the country, saying the current “system” of governance had “collapsed” and needed a “reset”.
Earlier this week, Naqvi reaffirmed his stance on the creation of new provinces or administrative units. He suggested that political parties should hold a referendum to gauge the public’s opinion on this matter, terming it the “solution” to the ongoing debate.
However, the PPP, which rules Sindh and is also an ally of the PML-N government at the Centre along with MQM-P, has strongly opposed the suggested move for new provinces.
In September, the Sindh Assembly adopted a resolution rejecting all attempts to divide the province or create new administrative unitswith the CM Murad declaring that “there will be no compromise on Sindh’s geographical unity”.
Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has called for a “full stop” on the debate surrounding new provinces and also a “political reset”, wherein all political parties must unite for the sake of the country rather than indulge in “unnecessary debates”.
In his remarks on Thursday, Naqvi contended that he and Bilawal were “nearly on the same page”.
“He [Bilawal] said that political matters are about to be reset, while my suggestion is that overall matters are about to be reset,” Naqvi said.
Source: www.dawn.com
