Article 239(4) Requires Two-Thirds Majority Of Relevant Provincial Assembly General Referendum Power Under Article 48(6) Cannot Substitute Specific Constitutional Procedure PPP Strongly Opposed To Division Of Sindh Sindh Assembly Passed Resolution Against Division
According to The Express Tribune, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s statement that the creation of new provinces or administrative units should ultimately be decided by the public has ignited a sharp constitutional debate: can a referendum legally create a new province in Pakistan?
Constitutional experts consulted by the Tribune say no. Advocate Abdul Moiz Jaferii cited Article 239(4), which unambiguously requires that any constitutional amendment altering the limits of a province must first pass by a two-thirds majority in the relevant provincial assembly before receiving presidential assent. “This procedure contains within it a second implied command: that this is the only way to alter the limits of a province,” he said. Since a specific constitutional provision exists for altering provincial boundaries, a general provision, the referendum power under Article 48(6) cannot substitute for it.
Barrister Tariq Mahmood Khokhar agreed that a referendum cannot constitutionally create a new province, though it could provide democratic legitimacy. He warned against replicating the “farcical referenda” held under Zia and Musharraf, saying these had escalated rather than resolved Pakistan’s crises. Meanwhile, PPP’s fierce resistance to any division of Sindh, including a unanimous Sindh Assembly resolution, makes any such proposal politically fraught. Jaferii called the division of Sindh “a minefield that even the sturdiest of boots would find difficult to cross.”
A proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment is reportedly under serious consideration, covering approximately two dozen articles.
The referendum can ask the question. The Constitution requires the provincial assembly to answer it. Check out our previous coverage of Pakistan’s politics on The Trusted Times.
