South Punjab, Bahawalpur Province Resolutions No Longer Effective: Rana Sanaullah
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has said old Punjab Assembly resolutions concerning the creation of South Punjab and Bahawalpur provinces have lost their practical relevance, arguing that any fresh move toward creating new provinces should go through parliament and the constitutional process.
Speaking in a television interview, Sanaullah said the resolutions concerning South Punjab and Bahawalpur were adopted by the Punjab Assembly roughly a decade ago but were not implemented during that assembly’s tenure.
He argued that once an assembly completes its term without implementing such a resolution, a succeeding legislature is free to decide whether it wants to adopt a fresh resolution on the issue.
“The old resolutions are no longer effective” in the present circumstances, according to Sanaullah’s position as reported by Express Urdu.
Fresh Resolution Needed, Sanaullah Says
Sanaullah said that if the issue of South Punjab or Bahawalpur is to be pursued again, it would require renewed consideration rather than relying automatically on resolutions adopted by an earlier assembly.
Dunya reported him as saying that a new resolution would have to be passed if the provinces issue is to be taken forward afresh.
His remarks are significant because proposals for additional provinces and administrative units have returned to the centre of Pakistan’s political debate.
South Punjab has long featured in discussions about administrative decentralisation, regional representation and the distribution of development resources. Bahawalpur has separately been the subject of demands for restoration or recognition as a province.
‘Parliament Is the Proper Forum’
Sanaullah stressed that the debate over creating new provinces should take place in parliament, describing it as the appropriate constitutional and political forum for resolving the issue.
He made a similar argument two days earlier, saying discussions about new provinces were largely taking place at seminars, public forums and in the media, while no formal resolution, bill or structured debate on the issue had yet reached parliament.
The PML-N, he indicated, would present its position if the matter formally entered parliament.
Dunya also quoted Sanaullah as saying that if people genuinely wanted new provinces, political parties would support their wishes, but the matter would have to proceed through the appropriate institutional process.
Mohsin Naqvi Free to Express Personal View
Sanaullah also addressed recent statements by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, whose comments supporting discussion of new administrative units have helped intensify the national debate.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had not stopped Naqvi from expressing his views, adding that the interior minister was free to state his personal opinion.
However, Sanaullah stressed that an individual minister’s statement cannot itself determine whether new provinces will be created.
Any public referendum on such an issue would also have to operate within the Constitution and require parliamentary approval, he said.
Islamabad Province Question Also Raised
During the interview, Sanaullah was also asked about suggestions that Islamabad could become a separate province.
Rather than endorsing that proposal, he pointed to the unresolved question of local government in the federal capital.
Sanaullah said the government had received what he described as a final warning from the Election Commission of Pakistan regarding the holding of local government elections in Islamabad under the approved local government framework.
His response places emphasis on strengthening existing local governance arrangements rather than immediately converting Islamabad into another province.
New Provinces Debate Gains Momentum
The wider debate has gathered momentum across Pakistan in recent weeks, with politicians, residents and civil-society voices offering competing views on whether additional provinces could improve governance.
Residents interviewed in South Punjab have argued that smaller provinces could reduce administrative distance, improve representation and bring resources and decision-making closer to underserved communities.
Supporters of additional provinces generally argue that Pakistan’s large population and administrative challenges justify greater decentralisation.
Opponents, however, have questioned whether creating additional provinces would necessarily improve governance and have raised concerns over political motives, costs, boundaries, resources and ethnic or regional tensions.
The issue has been particularly contentious in Sindh, where discussion of new administrative units has generated strong political resistance.
Constitutional Process Remains Central
Creating a new province is not something the federal government or an individual minister can accomplish through an executive announcement.
Changes affecting Pakistan’s provincial structure require the constitutional amendment process, making parliamentary support and, where provincial boundaries are affected, the role of the relevant provincial legislature critical.
Sanaullah’s latest comments therefore do not amount to a rejection of South Punjab or Bahawalpur as future provinces. Rather, his position is that old resolutions cannot simply be treated as an active mandate today and that any renewed proposal must return to the appropriate constitutional and parliamentary forums.
