Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday proposed holding a referendum to decide whether new provinces should be created, and hours later flew to Nawabshah for a nearly hour-long meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari. No official statement has been issued about what was discussed.
Speaking to reporters at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency in Lahore, Naqvi urged political parties to put the question to the public. “My only request to all political parties is that this is such an issue that they should hold a referendum,” he said. “If the people say new provinces should not be created, I am 100 per cent with them. But if they want new provinces, then they should be created.” He also said he and Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari were almost on the same page over a reset of the system, and that major decisions would need agreement among political parties.
Naqvi then travelled to Nawabshah on a special aircraft on Thursday night and met Zardari at Zardari House for about 59 minutes before flying back to Islamabad. Sources said the meeting covered proposals for new provinces, the possibility of a referendum and developments involving the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), and that Naqvi was carrying an important message from a senior national figure. Neither the presidency nor the interior minister has confirmed the reported agenda.
Reports have suggested a proposal to reorganise Pakistan into 12 provinces is under consideration, with a nationwide referendum envisaged ahead of a possible 28th Constitutional Amendment. Naqvi first made a prominent case for more administrative units in July, at the Pakistan Economic Summit 2026, arguing the country needed them for better governance. Legal experts cited by The Express Tribune have pointed out that a public vote alone cannot lead to the creation of a new province — that would need a demanding constitutional process.
Sources: The Express Tribune, ‘Naqvi makes surprise dash to Nawabshah with ‘important message’ for Zardari’, 12 November 2026 — https://tribune.com.pk/story/2639971/naqvi-makes-surprise-dash-to-nawabshah-with-important-message-for-zardari?amp=1 ; The Nation, ‘Naqvi floats referendum on new provinces before rushing to Zardari House’, 13 November 2026 — https://www.nation.com.pk/13-Nov-2026/naqvi-floats-referendum-new-provinces-rushing-zardari-house ; Aaj English, ‘Zardari, Naqvi discuss political situation, security matters in Nawabshah meeting’, 12 November 2026 — https://english.aaj.tv/news/330480484/zardari-naqvi-discuss-political-situation-security-matters-in-nawabshah-meeting ; The Express Tribune, ‘Bilawal and I ‘almost’ on same page over ‘system reset’: Naqvi’, 12 November 2026 — https://tribune.com.pk/story/2639930/bilawal-and-i-almost-on-same-page-over-system-reset-naqvi?amp=1
Photo: UK Home Office / Rav Soodi, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
