Ask People Before Creating New Provinces, Says Tariq Fazal Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD:Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has said that the people of all four provinces should be consulted on the creation of new provinces, adding that any decision should be made according to the wishes of the people.
Speaking at a seminar on a proposal to make Islamabad a separate province, Chaudhry said it was unclear when other provinces would establish new administrative units, but Islamabad would be the first to have such a unit.
He said efforts were being made in Parliament to establish an Islamabad administrative unit through legislation. “We will certainly succeed in developing this model. The solution to all these problems lies in this new model,” he said.
The federal minister clarified that Islamabad would not become a province but would be developed as an administrative unit with a status greater than that of a province in certain respects. He said other provinces could study the Islamabad model if they wished to establish similar administrative units.
Chaudhry said there was a broad desire to introduce an effective governance model for Islamabad. He noted that Islamabad had come into existence through a presidential ordinance and that the administrative system introduced there was intended to be temporary, but unfortunately the same ad hoc system was still continuing.
Regarding the creation of new provinces, he reiterated that the people of all four provinces should be consulted. “If the people want new provinces, then that is fine,” he said.
Chaudhry said he had presented a proposal to the prime minister after considering governance models followed by capital cities around the world. He stressed that Islamabad could not become the country’s fifth province but could instead be established as a separate administrative unit.
He pointed out that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) dealt with development matters in Islamabad, while the Islamabad Capital Territory administration handled affairs in the rural areas. He claimed that deprivation in Islamabad’s rural areas was greater than in South Punjab.
The minister said an empowered local government system had not been effectively established anywhere in the country. He argued that Islamabad’s existing local government system could not serve as a substitute for a genuinely autonomous model.
He said Islamabad should have a legislative assembly capable of dealing with local matters, as residents currently had to approach the National Assembly even for relatively minor issues.
Chaudhry said legislation concerning Islamabad was difficult to pass through Parliament and argued that an Islamabad assembly would allow 27 representatives to legislate on local matters.
He further claimed that Islamabad generated more revenue than Azad Jammu and Kashmir, adding that the authorities were aware of the root causes of the city’s administrative problems.
اگر آپ چاہیں تو میں اسے **short breaking-news format** میں بھی تبدیل کر سکتا ہوں۔
