ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) here on Friday said the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would oppose any move to create new provinces and administrative units, claiming such a step would be the “last nail in the coffin” of their political interests
Talking to reporters, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said both PPP and PML-N would fight any changes to the country’s administrative structure, claiming their political survival hinged on preserving their strongholds.
He alleged that the ruling coalition, bound together by vested interests, would go to any length to preserve its political influence in Punjab and Sindh. “Whether it is administrative units or new provinces, these two parties will never allow it to happen,” he said.
This stance came a day after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called for a debate on creating more provinces or administrative units, warning that the existing system would deliver little change even over the next decade.
Turning his guns on the motives behind the proposal, Gohar claimed that calls for new provinces were being used as a tool to undermine PTI. “You can create a hundred provinces, but PTI will win everywhere,” he said.
Gohar also criticised the government over what he described as the decline of state institutions, saying the country’s political and economic problems began after a shift from “new Pakistan” to “old Pakistan”.
He claimed the judiciary had been weakened, the economy damaged and public confidence in the system eroded. “It feels as if the entire country is on fire.”
The PTI leader also questioned the impact of the 26th Amendments, arguing that increasing the number of judges had failed to improve access to justice.
He claimed Pakistan had 98 judges before the amendments and that around 90 additional judges had since been appointed, but public confidence in the judiciary had continued to decline.
On Bushra Bibi’s hospital visit, he said she had been taken to hospital on Tuesday night for an eye examination before being returned to Adiala Jail.
He said he was informed about the transfer only after she had already been moved back to the jail.
He denied having any contact with Interior Minister Naqvi or PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, saying the masses should be told who had pushed the system towards what he called a “default mode”.
Turning his criticism towards the PPP, Gohar accused the party of raising election-related issues selectively, saying Bilawal had spoken about seats but not other national issues.
He said he agreed with Bilawal’s criticism of the prime minister being a “Form 47” product, but added that the PPP was also a beneficiary of the same process.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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