Debate over new provinces intensifies: Khawaja Asif accuses PPP of ‘double standard’

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has accused the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of a “double standard” on new provinces, saying it backs a Saraiki province in Punjab but the party raises the Sindhudesh issue when broader administrative restructuring is discussed.

Asif, in an X post, said the PPP supported or showed a “soft corner” for the demand for a Saraiki province whenever the issue was raised in Punjab.

“But when there is talk of multiple provinces or administrative units instead of four, the talk of Sindhudesh begins,” he said, adding that he believed there was “something else” behind what he described as the PPP’s contradictory position.

Asif said he would explain what he believed was behind the policy “at some point”, while stressing that “we are Pakistanis, first and last”.

The defence minister also called for genuine implementation of devolution under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, saying the principle had been established constitutionally but had not been respected in practice.

He said the current system had become outdated because of the concentration of powers and argued that authority needed to be transferred to lower levels so democracy could take root at the grassroots and people could benefit from it.