Khawaja Asif Criticizes PPP’s Stance on New Provinces, Calls for Devolution of Powers
ISLAMABAD:Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has criticized what he described as the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) “dual policy” on the issue of creating new provinces and administrative units.
In a statement posted on X, Khawaja Asif said that when the issue of a **Saraiki province** is raised, the PPP shows some openness, but when there is talk of creating additional provinces or administrative units beyond the existing four, discussion about **Sindhudesh** begins.
He said he sees “something else” behind the PPP’s dual policy, adding that the devolution of powers was determined under the **18th Amendment**, but had not been implemented in practice.
According to Khawaja Asif, the existing system has become outdated because of the concentration of powers. He said that regardless of whether they are called provinces or administrative units, **devolution of powers is inevitable**.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said earlier that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) believes it is premature to discuss the creation of new provinces at present.
Speaking about the issue, Rana Sanaullah termed the speeches delivered in the National Assembly a day earlier unnecessary. He said resolutions similar to the one recently passed by the Sindh Assembly had been adopted in the past as well.
Rana Sanaullah said the intensity and tension generated over the provinces issue were unnecessary, adding that the National Assembly was unnecessarily targeted during speeches in the Sindh Assembly.
He further said the PPP was doing all this to remain politically relevant, but acknowledged that the **division of Sindh is an extremely important issue for the party’s politics**.
