Dismissing any notion that the PML-N had submitted the constitutional amendment bill for the creation of two new provinces on Monday for political point-scoring, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has ascribed the move to his party's "sincere intent" and criticised the PTI government for "sitting on the issue for five months" when they could have done the same.

Appearing on DawnNewsTV show News Wise, Abbasi said the PML-N has no interest in "taking credit for the bill" and that the party has simply taken the first step. "It is now up to other parties to consider the bill and present their viewpoints, if they too are sincere," he added.

When asked by the host why the proposal contains the creation of two provinces — south Punjab as well as Bahawalpur — Abbasi said this was the previous demand of, and the resolution passed by, the Punjab Assembly.

"The people of Bahawalpur demand [the creation of a province] and claim that they were promised the same by the Quaid-i-Azam. If the leadership of the parliament thinks this should not be done, then it is up to them. This [bill] will pass with consensus anyway. No single political party can do anything on its own," he reasoned.

He was then asked why south Punjab has been proposed as such a small province. "It was thought that the territory would include the districts of Vehari, Muzaffargarh, and Rahimyar Khan," anchorperson Arifa Noor said.

Abbasi responded by saying: "We had thought that the demand had come from these areas and so we drafted it that way but of course amendments can be made to include more areas."

He reiterated that his party would have no objections to any amendments. "In fact, I did not know that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has also passed a resolution for Hazara [province]. Hazara should also be included then."

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Abbasi was then asked whether the PML-N had approached the PPP for consultations beforehand to which he replied in the negative.

"No, the PPP have their own stance. This is not just an opposition bill. This bill will be presented as a private member's bill by the PML-N. Other parties should also consider it, present their viewpoints and make whatever amendments they wish."

The host countered: "Had you created some sort of consensus first outside the parliament, it would have given the impression that you are serious. Right now it seems this has only been done for political point- scoring."

But Abbasi maintained that there was "no need" for consultation. "Every party supports this bill. PTI says they [the provinces] should be made tomorrow. They wrote it in their manifesto. They made noise over it again and again. We submitted the bill."

The former premier criticised the incumbent government for not showing the initiative on the matter.

"This bill should [at least] be presented before the committee. Then it is up to them to say they don't want either of the two provinces or want just one or six. At least the process should begin. The government has been sitting for five months. They could have presented the bill. Why didn't they?," he said.

The host remarked that the Imran Khan-led government has its hands full with the financial crisis left behind by the previous PML-N government.

"Yes, yes, there are so many issues. A finance bill was introduced [by the government] and then the assembly session was prorogued. This is a unique event in Pakistan's history," said Abbasi.

Asked why there had been ruckus during the 'mini-budget' session despite the government claiming they had held a meeting with the opposition and discussed the bill beforehand, Abbasi said there had been no such meeting.

"There is always a lot of noise in the assembly. We never bad-mouthed anyone. We never attacked anyone. But raising our voice is our right. We fight for the people," the PML-N leader contended.