'Instead of speaking at business forums, Naqvi should visit Parliament': Bilawal on interior minister's call for governance rest

'Instead of speaking at business forums, Naqvi should visit Parliament': Bilawal on interior minister's call for governance rest.

Key points

• News Desk Published September 9, 2026 Updated September 9, 2026 11: 31am.
• He expressed these views while speaking to the media in London, where he is on a visit with his father, President Asif Ali Zardari.
• During the media interaction in London, Bilawal was asked regarding the matter and questioned concerning "whose language Mohsin Naqvi sahib was speaking".
• He remarked that the creation of new provinces should be debated in the National Assembly, adding that, even so, Naqvi rarely visited the lower house of Parliament.
• Its opposition is mainly to the proposed division of Sindh, but the party has long advocated for a South Punjab province, and so has the opposition PTI.

News Desk Published September 9, 2026 Updated September 9, 2026 11: 31am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

Against the backdrop of growing debate in the country on the creation of new provinces to improve governance, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has stated that the matter should be debated in Parliament.

He expressed these views while speaking to the media in London, where he is on a visit with his father, President Asif Ali Zardari. During the trip, President Zardari held a session with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. This person in July sparked a political maelstrom by calling for an overhaul of the country's governance structure and the creation of new provinces.

"Mohsin Naqvi sahib must be speaking his own language, and I speak my language. It is his right to express his opinion, " Bilawal remarked.

"So instead of business forums, Mohsin Naqvi should visit, " he remarked, an apparent reference to the first instance of Naqvi stressing the need for more administrative units while speaking at the Pakistan Economic Summit 2026 in July. Bilawal reiterated that the matter should be debated in Parliament.

"I am ready to debate this with any representative of the federal government or a federal minister, " he remarked.

He continued that difficulties and faults that had "historically" existed in the system should be openly discussed.

"The real issues resulting in the system's collapse and their solutions should be discussed in Parliament by the people's elected representatives, " Bilawal stressed.

While the country's leading lawyers' bodies adopted divergent positions, the proposal by Naqvi in July drew solid reactions from administration ministers.

Nevertheless, the PPP, which rules Sindh and is additionally an ally of the PML-N administration at the Centre, has strongly resisted the move. It has additionally maintained that any decision to create new provinces must be taken through the constitutional and parliamentary process and with political consensus.

Its opposition is mainly to the proposed division of Sindh, but the party has long advocated for a South Punjab province, and so has the opposition PTI. By contrast, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) – which is an ally of the Centre coalition but forms the opposition in Sindh – has been demanding that Karachi be designated a province separate from Sindh.

President Zardari's session with Naqvi in London was followed by the Sindh Assembly adopting a resolution rejecting all attempts to divide the province or create new administrative units. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah declared that "there will be no compromise on Sindh's geographical unity".

On Tuesday, the Sindh Assembly Secretariat additionally sent letters to the principal secretaries to the president and prime minister, and to the Senate and National Assembly, informing them concerning the resolution.

Meanwhile, two days after the resolution was passed, Naqvi doubled down on his demand for new provinces.

"New administrative units will eventually have to be created as Pakistan's growing population and changing needs can no longer be effectively managed through the existing administrative structure, " remarked the minister. This person is considered close to the powers that be.

Addressing a National Policy Dialogue on 'Devolution of Powers and Good Governance in Pakistan' at the University of Management and Technology in Lahore, he remarked the proposed "reset" did not mean a change of administration or political party but a comprehensive review and restructuring of the administrative system to create it responsive to the needs of citizens.

He even pressed a debate on granting provincial status to Islamabad, saying residents of the federal capital did not receive a share under the National Finance Commission award.

Notably, the development resulted in the PPP stepping up its opposition to the federal government's statements on new provinces and administrative units.

Meanwhile, the PPP Sindh leadership, at a session chaired by provincial president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro the same day, accused the federal ministers of interfering in the constitutional affairs of the province and cautioned the federal administration against any attempt to undermine Sindh's autonomy or territorial integrity.

For context, the session called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to restrain his ministers from making statements on new provinces and cautioned that continued remarks could lead the PPP to conclude that the federal administration was behind a "conspiracy against Sindh's unity, provincial autonomy and the 18th Amendment". PML N AND PPP.

For now, ' Instead of speaking at business forums, Naqvi should visit Parliament' : Bilawal on remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.