Pakistan’s interior minister: new administrative units only with public consent
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in Lahore that new administrative units in the country can be created only with public support. Dawn reports on his remarks.
Speaking on September 5 at the National Dialogue on Policy, Naqvi stressed that changes must take place on the basis of political consensus and in accordance with the will of citizens. According to him, the decision to create new administrative units cannot depend solely on one person, a political party, or the government.
The minister added that if the public does not support the idea, new administrative units will not be created. He also said that the proposed reforms must be carried out in accordance with the Constitution and through democratic methods.
Reforming the governance system
Naqvi explained that his earlier remarks about the need for a “reset” concerned not a particular political force, but the governance system that has existed in Pakistan since independence. He called on political parties to discuss the issue and said he would not abandon the idea of reform.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
According to the minister, the changes will not happen overnight. He urged politicians not to react too emotionally to the issue of new administrative units and argued that the current administrative system has lost its effectiveness and does not deliver adequate results for the population.
Naqvi’s arguments
Naqvi cited figures showing that four out of ten children in the country do not receive the necessary education, only 55% of the population has access to clean drinking water, and two million cases remain pending in courts. He named these problems among the issues the government is trying to address.
The minister also said that reforms should give people more authority and must not affect their ethnic identity. Naqvi described himself as a supporter of granting Islamabad provincial status and said this would enable the federal capital to receive its share under the NFC Award.
In July, Naqvi proposed a dialogue among all political parties on reforms to the governance system, the creation of new provinces, and urgent administrative changes. His proposal sparked discussion: the Pakistan Peoples Party referred the matter to its governing body, Sindh’s chief minister rejected the initiative, and Lahore lawyers called it unconstitutional.
