Can Public Vote Override Provincial Assembly? | Referendum vs 2/3rd Vote — Which One Wins?

Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik has blamed Pakistan’s political leadership for the growing demand for new provinces, saying the failure to devolve administrative and financial power to local governments since the 18th Amendment had left national and provincial politicians dealing with problems that should have been handled at the local level. Malik said the debate was ultimately about devolution of power, whether achieved through new provinces, administrative units or stronger local governments, and acknowledged that politicians had “brought this upon themselves” by holding on to power. He said Article 140A had failed to produce an effective system because it did not clearly spell out how devolution should work, while provincial finance commissions had also not ensured that resources reached elected local representatives. Malik said the situation had fuelled public frustration over basic services and governance and argued that the issue now required a serious parliamentary debate rather than being dismissed, adding that if political parties had strengthened local governments over the past 16 years, the country might not be debating new provinces today. He acknowledged that the government has no formal proposal to create new provinces but the issue would ultimately be debated in Parliament rather than settled through business forums Malik also challenged the PPP’s opposition to any change in Sindh while supporting the creation of provinces elsewhere, saying the issue should be approached across Pakistan rather than by “picking and choosing” one province. He said Sindh’s assembly had moved to reject the idea before Parliament had properly debated it, while Article 239(4) currently requires a two-thirds majority of the relevant provincial assembly to alter its boundaries. At the same time, Malik said that if Parliament were eventually to seek the public’s view on a matter of national importance, Article 48(6) provided a constitutional route towards a referendum, arguing that political parties could not ignore an overwhelming national mandate in favour of new provinces or administrative units. He acknowledged that such a vote could create a constitutional conflict with the provincial assembly requirement, potentially leaving the Federal Constitutional Court to interpret the competing provisions, but said the “will of the people” would have to carry weight in any democratic process. Malik said the debate should therefore consider the demands and vote of people in individual provinces as well as the countrywide result, rather than treating the creation of new provinces as a political project aimed at a particular province.