ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif proposed federal status for Karachi and Gwadar while calling for new administrative units across Pakistan, ARY News reported Friday.
Speaking on the ARY News programme Khabar, Asif said Karachi, Sindh, and Gwadar, Balochistan, should become part of the federation instead of being converted into separate provinces.
He opposed creating provinces along ethnic or linguistic lines. Asif instead proposed administrative units within existing provinces, citing a possible merger involving Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, and another city.
“If we make provinces on linguistic grounds, a new Pandora’s box will open,” he said
Asif also called for stronger local governments with more financial and administrative authority. He said transferring resources to grassroots institutions could improve public services.
The minister described Karachi’s local government structure as fragmented. He also noted that Punjab had yet to conduct local government elections.
Asif said Pakistan needed a governance system capable of meeting the country’s present requirements and serving it for the next 50 years.
Referring to Pakistan’s existing “hybrid model,” he predicted that major decisions would emerge within two to three months. He linked the model’s success to new administrative units and an effective local government system.
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Asif’s remarks followed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s call for structural reforms and additional administrative units. Asif questioned whether political parties would empower local institutions or protect their existing provincial authority.
Any constitutional amendment that changes a province’s territorial limits requires approval from two-thirds of the concerned provincial assembly under Article 239(4) of the Constitution of Pakistan.
