ISLAMABAD — The President House said on Friday refuted media reports about yesterday’s meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, saying that discussions focused on national security and regional situation. The clarification comes after several media reports emerged claiming that Naqvi and the president had discussed the formation of new provinces during a meeting in Nawabshah on Thursday night.
No official handout was issued about the meeting. “There is no truth to media reports suggesting that matters concerning the provinces were discussed during the interior minister’s meeting with the president,” the President House said in a statement. “Matters concerning national security and the regional situation were discussed during the meeting.
However, no discussion took place on matters related to provinces,” the statement added. The security czar has whipped up a political storm over the past few months since he called for the formation of new administrative units in the country, saying the current “system” of governance had “collapsed” and needed a “reset”. Earlier this week, Naqvi reaffirmed his stance on the creation of new provinces or administrative units.