ISLAMABAD: Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal has proposed dividing Pakistan’s four provinces into 12 to 15 smaller provinces and called for the formation of a committee to examine administrative reforms.
Iqbal said the proposal should be discussed at the national and political level, stressing that the creation of new provinces would require political consensus.
“I would say we need 12-15 new provinces,” Iqbal told The News, suggesting that each of the four existing provinces could potentially be divided into three administrative units.
He said the existing provincial structure had become increasingly centralised and was affecting the delivery of public services, including health and education.
Iqbal said he would raise the proposal with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after his return from Kyrgyzstan.
However, Prime Minister’s Coordinator Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan said no formal decision had been taken and no federal committee had been constituted to examine the creation of new provinces or administrative units.
Debate Gains Momentum Over Pakistan’s Provincial Structure
The proposal comes amid renewed debate over Pakistan’s administrative structure.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi raised the issue in July, arguing that the existing governance system needed restructuring. A day later, ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry also called for a debate on whether the current provincial arrangement was adequate for effective governance.
Pakistan currently has four provinces, two autonomous territories and one federal capital territory. Proposals for additional provinces, including South Punjab and Hazara, have been discussed for decades.
The issue has generated strong opposition in Sindh, where nationalist parties have rejected proposals to divide the province. The Sindh Assembly has also seen opposition to calls for administrative restructuring.
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has also criticised the proposal, calling for greater seriousness in addressing governance issues.
New Provinces Would Require Constitutional and Financial Changes
Creating new provinces would require significant constitutional, administrative and financial changes, including new provincial governments, assemblies, departments and judicial structures.
Any restructuring would also raise questions over the distribution of federal resources, water, land and natural resources among the successor provinces.
The 1991 Water Apportionment Accord establishes water shares for Pakistan’s provinces, meaning any division of existing provinces could require a new mechanism for allocating their existing shares.
Experts remain divided over whether smaller provinces would automatically produce better governance. Political and sociology academic Umair Javed said smaller units could bring decision-making closer to citizens, but warned that decentralisation without accountability could result in elite capture.
The financial implications would also be significant. Establishing new provincial institutions would require additional expenditure at a time when Pakistan faces fiscal constraints and high debt levels.
For now, the proposal remains at the discussion stage, with no formal federal decision or committee announced to initiate the process.