ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has announced that the joint opposition will soon convene an All Parties Conference (APC) to discuss the creation of new provinces in the country.
Gohar made the announcement after a delegation-level meeting with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at his residence on Friday.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Gohar described it as the first formal meeting concerning the joint opposition and said the participants had agreed to take all political parties into confidence on national issues.
The development came a day after Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said parliamentary debate on the creation of new provinces would take place in October.
PTI, JUI-F discuss joint opposition platform
Gohar said the proposed joint opposition platform would be used for consultation on parliamentary proceedings, assembly sessions and matters concerning prisoners.
He said PTI and JUI-F had previously discussed forming a joint opposition and had reached an understanding on the issue in both the Senate and National Assembly.
According to a declaration issued after the meeting, the PTI delegation was led by Gohar and included Salman Akram Raja, Asad Qaiser, Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Hussain Ahmad Yousafzai.
Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and Maulana Asad Mahmood represented JUI-F at the meeting.
The participants discussed the proposed APC being convened by the Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), along with the PTI’s September 27 call, rule of law and constitutional supremacy.
The declaration said the participants also discussed strengthening the country’s constitutional and democratic system and stressed the need for consultation and joint political efforts to address national issues.
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JUI-F leader Haideri welcomed the opposition delegation and said political parties would have to play a collective role in addressing the country’s problems.
He also referred to protests against inflation, saying JUI-F had organised rallies across the country over rising prices.
Achakzai calls for APC amid political tensions
Separately, TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai said consultations had begun on arranging a meeting between the offices of the opposition leader and the prime minister following a letter from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“In view of Pakistan’s deteriorating situation, it has been decided that an All Parties Conference will be convened at the earliest,” Achakzai said.
Earlier on Friday, an opposition leaders’ meeting was held in the chamber of Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas under Achakzai’s chairmanship.
According to Achakzai, the meeting also discussed the proposed September 27 protest.
Debate over new provinces intensifies
The debate over creating new provinces and administrative units gained momentum in July after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said Pakistan’s governance system had “collapsed” and called for fundamental reforms.
Naqvi argued that the country should move towards new administrative units with greater powers devolved to lower levels.
On September 5, he said the creation of new administrative units should be based on the wishes of the people and described the situation as requiring a system “reset.”
“Reset does not mean breaking down the system. Reset means making wrongs right,” Naqvi said, adding that work on new administrative units would proceed only with public support.
The debate subsequently widened after Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal called for a national discussion on Pakistan’s administrative structure and proposed creating between 12 and 15 provinces.
The issue has also exposed differences among ruling coalition partners, with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) appearing divided over the creation of new administrative units or provinces.
