{"id":133037,"date":"2026-09-14T09:53:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T04:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=133037"},"modified":"2026-09-14T09:53:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T04:53:36","slug":"new-provinces-debate-may-take-eight-months-says-pms-aide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/","title":{"rendered":"New provinces debate may take eight months, says PM\u2019s aide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LAHORE(National Times)-  Prime Minis\u00adter\u2019s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan has said any move to create\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2019599\">new provinces<\/a>\u00a0is still at an early stage and may take six to eight months to go through parliament and its committees, making it clear that his party PML-N has not initiated the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking at a meeting with journalists here on Sunday, he said that if a proposal for new provinces was formally brought before parliament, every political party and member would have an opportunity to express an opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said the matter could then be referred to a parliamentary or standing committee for detailed consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is still a lot of time before the issue of provincial division comes before parliament,\u201d he said, adding that the debate could ultimately produce proposals for new administrative units or lead to discussion on local government elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The PML-N leader questioned the decision to initiate the debate at an economic forum, saying such a platform was not meant for launching projects involving major constitutional and political changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThose behind the project may have spoken to the PML-N, but if we have not introduced it, it does not mean we should stand against it with a stick,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He made it clear that no major proposal favouring the division of provinces had emerged from the PML-N. \u201cWhen the PML-N has not started this project, you should understand what our line is,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the question of Bahawalpur (division), he said the PML-N\u2019s local leadership in Punjab did not want the region to be included in a proposed South Punjab province. He said some within the party favoured a separate Bahawalpur province, while others wanted it to remain linked with Lahore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said the Pakistan Peoples Party had benefited politically from the debate over provincial division because its workers had become emotionally aligned with the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Referring to the controversial canal project, he said President Asif Ali Zardari had supported its construction but the PPP subsequently mobilised public opposition that resulted in the project being halted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked about reports of back-channel contacts with PTI founder Imran Khan, Rana Sana said there might be behind-the-scenes communication, but \u201cthere is a price\u201d for adopting such a course and whoever chose it would have to pay that price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regarding differences involving the federal interior minister, Rana Sana said the minister could be asked for an explanation when he spoke in the cabinet or Senate. He said Federal Minister Sheikh Qaiser met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif every other day in his presence and that he did not understand his claim of not having met the premier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSome matters are meant for deliberation. Everything should not be made public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The meeting was attended by Punjab Assembly Chief Whip Rana Muhammad Arshad and PML-N leaders Zubair Gul, Rana Imran, Ghulam Mustafa and Dr Saeed Elahi, besides senior journalists Mujeebur Rehman Shami, Sohail Warraich, Saleem Bukhari, Hafizullah Niazi, Naveed Chaudhry, Pervez Bashir, Mansoor Ali Khan, Salman Ghani and others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LAHORE(National Times)- Prime Minis\u00adter\u2019s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan has said any move to create\u00a0new provinces\u00a0is still at an early stage and may take six to eight months to go through parliament and its committees, making it clear that his party PML-N has not initiated the project. Speaking at a meeting with journalists [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New provinces debate may take eight months, says PM\u2019s aide - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New provinces debate may take eight months, says PM\u2019s aide - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LAHORE(National Times)- Prime Minis\u00adter\u2019s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan has said any move to create\u00a0new provinces\u00a0is still at an early stage and may take six to eight months to go through parliament and its committees, making it clear that his party PML-N has not initiated the project. Speaking at a meeting with journalists [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-14T04:53:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-5-8.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/\",\"name\":\"New provinces debate may take eight months, says PM\u2019s aide - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-5-8.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-14T04:53:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-5-8.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-5-8.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New provinces debate may take eight months, says PM\u2019s aide\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New provinces debate may take eight months, says PM\u2019s aide - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New provinces debate may take eight months, says PM\u2019s aide - Nation","og_description":"LAHORE(National Times)- Prime Minis\u00adter\u2019s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan has said any move to create\u00a0new provinces\u00a0is still at an early stage and may take six to eight months to go through parliament and its committees, making it clear that his party PML-N has not initiated the project. Speaking at a meeting with journalists [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/","og_site_name":"Nation","article_published_time":"2026-09-14T04:53:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":670,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-5-8.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"humza Jahangir","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"humza Jahangir","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/","name":"New provinces debate may take eight months, says PM\u2019s aide - Nation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-5-8.png","datePublished":"2026-09-14T04:53:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-5-8.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Untitled-design-5-8.png","width":670,"height":370},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/133037\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New provinces debate may take eight months, says PM\u2019s aide"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/","name":"Nation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16","name":"humza Jahangir","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"humza Jahangir"},"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133037"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133039,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133037\/revisions\/133039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}