Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Huzaifa Rehman, has said the country’s proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment is expected to be introduced before the end of the year, adding that significant progress has been made on its draft.
Speaking on ARY News program ‘The Reporters’, Huzaifa Rehman described the amendment as inevitable, saying it would be introduced before the New Year.
He said some details of the draft had yet to be finalized, and the timeline could shift by a week or 10 days, but insisted that the amendment would go ahead.
The advisor to the PM also addressed the debate over creating new provinces, responding to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s call to end discussions on the issue.
He said the debate on new provinces had not even formally begun, questioning how it could be concluded without first assessing public opinion.
“The proper forums for gauging public opinion are parliament and a referendum,” Rehman said. He added that if parliament was unwilling to assess public sentiment, a referendum could provide an alternative.
The prime minister’s aide warned that the proposed constitutional amendment could represent the last opportunity to pave the way for the creation of new provinces.
“If new provinces are not created through the 28th Constitutional Amendment, they will never be created,” he said.
