New provinces debate set for October in Senate, National Assembly, says Tariq Fazal Chaudhry

Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the issue is already being discussed across the country, including in the media, among intellectuals and representatives of the business community. He said Parliament is the appropriate forum for a formal debate on the creation of new provinces.

He clarified that Islamabad is not going to be made a province, saying the federal capital is instead moving toward adopting a new governance model. He stressed that there is no proposal to turn Islamabad into a separate province.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal had also proposed dividing Pakistan's four provinces into three parts each, resulting in a total of 15 provinces across the country.

Iqbal said the existing system was not delivering and called for the formation of a review committee to examine the proposal and initiate a national and political debate on the creation of new provinces. Also read: New provinces row: Bilawal calls for debate in National Assembly.

He said political consensus was essential for the establishment of new provinces, adding that the debate had gained momentum following Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi's remarks about the system's failure. Iqbal stressed that any decision on creating new provinces would require broad political agreement.