ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Senator Kamran Murtaza has said that Pakistan’s Constitution already provides scope for the creation of new provinces, and that new provinces could, in principle, be formed at any time.
Speaking media amid the ongoing national debate over the establishment of new provinces, Murtaza said the constitutional mechanism for carving out new provinces has long existed.
He went further, claiming that a decision to proceed with new provinces has effectively been taken, and that the process would involve the Election Commission of Pakistan along with a countrywide referendum. He did not specify a timeline or cite any official notification to support this claim.
The senator acknowledged that any such move would likely face objections over the delimitation and composition of constituencies in the proposed new provinces, noting that different communities and nationalities may seek to merge in some areas while pushing for separation in others.
On the current state of the ruling coalition, Murtaza described it as effectively a “forced marriage” between its constituent parties.
Turning to the ongoing dispute over judicial appointments, he said the confirmation of judges’ appointments is a constitutional power vested in the President, and that the President should be allowed to exercise that authority; failing that, he said, recourse would have to be sought through the courts.
Asked about a recent controversial statement attributed to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Murtaza pushed back, saying the Maulana had made no such remarks.
He said JUI-F was not opposed to the country, its Constitution or its institutions, and that Fazlur Rehman’s consistent position has been that the country and its institutions should function in accordance with the Constitution.
Police observers say Murtaza’s remarks add another voice to the widening national conversation on new administrative units, following Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s July 30 comments in Karachi and subsequent reactions from across the political spectrum, including PPP’s Murtaza Wahab, ANP’s Aimal Wali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah.
