ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari will return to Pakistan today (Tuesday), cutting short his visit to London amid some ‘important’ political developments at home.
According to sources within Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), President Zardari had planned to stay in London for another three to four days.
However, they told Business Recorder that his the decision to return earlier was taken after the proposal to create new provinces and administrative units in the country had been placed on the backburner due to the PPP’s strong opposition that culminated in the passage of a resolution in the Sindh Assembly; while some other sources maintain that his return may signal his engagement at home over the intensified political debate on the issue. The issue recently gained further momentum after Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal proposed dividing Pakistan into 12 to 15 provinces and called for a national political dialogue on restructuring the country’s administrative system.
The PPP, a key ally of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has strongly opposed any proposal to divide Sindh. It maintains that the creation of any new province must be carried out according to the procedures laid out in the constitution and must be backed by political consensus and public support.
President Zardari arrived in London from Vienna on September 1 after spending five days in Austria on a private visit. He was accompanied by former federal minister Dr Asim Hussain and Senator Saleem Mandvi-walla. The sources said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari joined their father in London two days later.
According to sources, both will remain in the British capital for about another week and are not expected to return to Pakistan with their father.
Bilawal travelled to London from Paris after spending several days in Austria, while Bakhtawar arrived in London along with her husband, Mahmood Chaudhry, and their children.
The family’s stay in Austria also triggered media reports that President Zardari had travelled there to discuss a possible marriage proposal for Bilawal with a prominent European family.
Bilawal; however, rejected the reports, saying that no engagement or marriage had taken place and that he did not know any “Princess Gloria”. He said that any decision regarding his personal life would be announced by his family.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also met President Zardari in London to reportedly discuss the creation of new provinces in the country. The Minister; however, failed to get support for the proposal that he had floated earlier during a speech in Lahore. Other sources say that he assured the President that any new administrative units would be created only with political consensus and the consent of the people.
When contacted, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bokhari said President Zardari had travelled to London for a medical checkup and that there was no political purpose behind the visit.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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