Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Thursday that the manifesto committee of the PPP was busy in deliberating on the issue but the PML-N’s proposal was not on its agenda. – File Photo

ISLAMABAD: The government has described as “non-serious” the PML-N’s proposal for setting up a national commission on the issue of new provinces.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Thursday that the manifesto committee of the PPP was busy in deliberating on the issue but the PML-N’s proposal was not on its agenda.

She told reporters outside the Parliament House that at a high-level meeting a few days ago the PPP leadership had dismissed the PML-N’s suggestion as a non-serious one. The president of the PML-N, Nawaz Sharif, appeared to be “unclear” over the matter.

Ms Awan said that on the one hand Mr Sharif had set up a committee of his party members to look into the issue but on the other he seemed to be opposing the very idea of new provinces in the country. “The government will take his views seriously only when he firms up his stance (on the issue).” The PML-N had set up a 15-member committee headed by Sartaj Aziz on Aug 1, which submitted a report to Mr Sharif on Aug 8. After the report’s submission, Mr Sharif asked the government to set up a national commission to deliberate on the matter.

Expressing surprise over Ms Awan’s statement, PML-N’s information secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan alluded to remarks made by former law minister Babar Awan and asked: “Are the PPP leaders serious when they say the nation will hear good news about Seraiki province during Ramazan?”

Meanwhile, sources said the PPP was now reluctant to take any step on its own for creation of new provinces, mainly because of stiff resistance within the party against the possible demands for division of Sindh.

The discussions on carving out new provinces, especially in Punjab, have gained momentum in recent months and President Asif Ali Zardari has already called for the necessary changes in the PPP’s manifesto.

Analyst Ahmad Bilal Mehboob has stressed the need for formulating a draft constitutional amendment on the issue before raising it at various political forums.