Proposal for Smaller Provinces Is a Conspiracy to Eliminate Politics and Political Parties: Matiullah Jan
ISLAMABAD: Senior journalist and anchorperson Matiullah Jan has criticized proposals for creating smaller provinces or autonomous administrative units, describing them as part of what he called an attempt to eliminate politics and political parties from Pakistan.
Commenting on a dramatic clip advising young people to stay away from politics, Jan said efforts to create hostility toward politics, democracy and the Constitution among Pakistan’s younger generation had been continuing for a long time.
In an analysis posted on social media platform X, he said proposals for smaller provinces or autonomous administrative units were now being presented as a means of eliminating politics and political parties.
Jan referred to Ashir Azeem’s film Maalik, which was produced with the cooperation of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and was later banned, as an example of what he described as an anti-democracy and anti-politician narrative.
He alleged that the film portrayed politicians, democracy and the judiciary negatively while presenting security personnel involved in extrajudicial killings as heroes.
پاکستان کی نوجوان نسل میں سیاست، سیاسی جماعتوں اور جمہوریت کیخلاف نفرت کے بیج بونے کی یہ رسم پرانی ہے۔ چھوٹے صوبوں یا خود مختار انتظامی یونٹس کی تجویز بھی ملک سے سیاست اور سیاسی جماعتوں کو ختم کرنے کی ایک سازش ہے۔
آئی ایس پی آر کے تعاون سے بنی آشر عظیم کی فلم "مالک” جس پر پابندی… https://t.co/DO64M3DIwN— Matiullah Jan (@Matiullahjan919) September 21, 2026
Discussing the film’s storyline, Jan said it included a negative portrayal of a Sindh chief minister, an impression of judicial failure and scenes involving a retired military officer establishing a private court to deliver justice.
According to Jan, such themes promoted defiance of constitutional and legal institutions. He also claimed that the film was initially banned by the Sindh government and later by the federal government.
The journalist further alleged that media organizations and owners had now become part of what he described as an old effort to distance young people from democracy and fundamental human rights for financial interests.
Jan recalled that he had previously attempted to host a television programme about Maalik after watching the film with actor Waheed Murad, but claimed that his live programme on Waqt TV was stopped in Lahore. He alleged that Ashir Azeem withdrew at the last moment and that a member of the PML-N’s censor board also backed out.
