Bilawal calls for NA debate on ‘system collapse’ following Naqvi’s remarks on new provinces

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has called for a debate in the National Assembly on the country’s governance problems, saying the focus should be on addressing flaws in the system rather than simply proposing new provinces.

He expressed these views while speaking to the media in London.

Responding to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s advocacy for new administrative units, Bilawal said Naqvi was expressing his personal opinion and that elected representatives should debate such issues in Parliament.

“Mohsin Naqvi sahib has his own opinion, and I am expressing my own,” Bilawal said, adding that he was ready to debate the issue with any federal minister or government representative in Parliament.

Asked PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari about his recent visit to Austria with President Asif Ali Zardari, the marriage speculation and Mohsin Naqvi’s campaign @BBhuttoZardari @MohsinnaqviC42 pic.twitter.com/mlqQy91hSy

— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) September 8, 2026

He said Pakistan faced systemic problems that had existed for decades and warned of the risk of a broader system collapse.

“I think the focus should be on the real problems, the problems in the system and the risk of the system collapsing,” Bilawal said.

Naqvi has strongly backed the creation of new administrative units, saying Pakistan’s governance structure needs a “reset”.

Addressing the National Policy Dialogue on New Provinces at the University of Management and Technology in Lahore on Saturday, Naqvi said he would not withdraw his support for new administrative units even if it cost him his job.

“Whether I remain in this job or not, I will not back down from this, whatever the end result may be,” he said.

Naqvi said no individual or political party could block new administrative units if they reflected the will of the people.

“If this is the voice of the public’s heart, then it will happen in any case,” he said, adding that he remained hopeful that the units would be created.

Bilawal, however, said elected representatives should bring such issues before Parliament for debate.

He said Naqvi should attend National Assembly proceedings instead of participating in forums outside Parliament.

“Instead of these forums, Mohsin Naqvi sahib should come to Parliament and there should be a debate on this,” Bilawal said.

He added that the debate should focus on identifying the country’s actual problems and finding solutions.

“What are the real issues and what is the solution to those issues? There should be a debate on that,” the PPP chairman said.

Bilawal also said it would be incorrect to claim that the PPP was not in contact with opposition parties.

On the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections, he said the PPP had reservations and that discussions with the PML-N were continuing.

Bilawal said the people of Gilgit-Baltistan had given the PPP a clear majority.

He also said everyone had the right to engage in political activity and that Naqvi had the right to express his views.

Naqvi first intensified the debate over new administrative units in July, when he said Pakistan’s governance system had “collapsed” and called for smaller units to bring government closer to citizens.

He has said any restructuring must remain within the Constitution and be based on political consensus and the will of the people.

Bilawal said the debate should instead examine the longstanding weaknesses in the system and determine how they could be addressed.

He noted that a majority had already expressed its views on Punjab in the past, while stressing that resolving public problems should remain an important part of the discussion.