DND Special Report
The issue of new administrative units such as new provinces has become a merry go round political game in Pakistan where Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal said he had proposed the creation of 12 to 15 new provinces while Rana Ihsan Afzal Khan who is same party and is coordinator to the prime minister told a to a newspaper that he had no information about any decision had been taken on creating new provinces or administrative units and added that no committee has been made at the federal level although Iqbal said there is a committee.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had already a campaign calling formation of new provinces within the Sindh province as a matter of life and death and body and soul. The same party in past was forerunner to form South Punjab province out of Punjab province and Hazara province out of KP province. KP provincial Assembly passed several resolutions to form new province of Hazara but now ANP, JUI-F and even PTI are joining hands against formation of Hazara province out of KP.
Ahsan Iqbal is now talking about a ‘national and political debate’ over the issue although PMLN had been proactive for Hazara province in past but now talking about ‘political consensus’ on this subject. Supporters of new provinces believe that perceivable collapse of civil administration is due to bigger administrative units (provinces) and smaller administrative units would be easy to handle while those who oppose the need of new provinces call formation of new provinces as ‘division’ within the existing provinces and are not ready to divide their provinces. Political rhetoric and domestic consumption of political statements are surely meddling this important subject of how to run Pakistan under emerging demands, particularly when it is already understood that system has collapsed. It looks who are in favour of forming new provinces are mum to address concerns that how new provinces would be better operational with the same civil administrative structure and bureaucrats who had pushed the country to this level of systematic system collapse. New provinces meaning by more bureaucrats of the same system with more power, perks, privileges and resources and more burden on national economy that is virtually run by increasing fuel levies and electricity surcharges and taking more foreign and local loans to feed the administrative stomach. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi who categorically accepted that governance has collapsed is at the target of those who do not want to cut their political power into pieces but those within the system who support new provinces are still come out a tangible roadmap to fix governance problem and till now it looks they want to run new provinces with the same redundant civil administration.
Ahsan Iqbal says that he has agenda of governance reforms and he had been working on it since last three years, but nobody knows when he would share these reforms with public and what are these reforms. He said that there is a need to form 12-15 new provinces by dividing all provinces into three each. It is understood that after forming new provinces an equitable distribution of representation of provinces in Senate would be needed as Senate represents equal presentation of all four provinces. These points shows that there is a long journey to new provinces as the government in power in centre has yet not started any homework on the issue and is shy to face political confrontation with PPP, ANP and JUI-F. Ahsan Iqbal is suggesting new provinces while Defence Minister Khawaja Asif is proposing adding Karachi (Sindh) and Gwadar (Balochistan) into federation (such as Islamabad) rather than making them separate provinces. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is yet to share what he is in mind and supreme leader Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is silent over the issue. The question is who will lead the debate and when? Will this debate continue through media persons to check response as litmus test, or will it be a serious discussion and debate at national level?
A recently published report in a newspaper indicates that creating new provinces would come with extra administrative cost to Pakistan that narrowly avoided default in 2023 after securing a $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout programme, followed by a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility. Three years on, the economy continues to face mounting debt, persistent inflation and weak growth, the newspaper report maintained. There is no doubt that more chief minister’s office, assembly, high courts, chief secretary’s offices, departments and bureaucratic structures would be needed along with new high salaries and administrative infrastructure. Can it not fill with already existing huge bureaucracy and administrative infrastructure? This is possible if politicians and bureaucrats are ready to live a life of a normal citizen in non-air-conditioned offices, use government hospitals for treatment and use public transports to come to office.
“PPP in 2012 proposed a Saraiki province, PTI’s campaigned for South Punjab, and PML-N and MQM’s promises for Hazara and an urban Sindh province are on record, but all parties took U-turn once assumed power, reflecting how demands for provinces are often exploited for electoral gains rather than pursued as serious reforms”
According to a report published a year ago (August 2025) the four-province structure of Pakistan was good enough when the country’s population was around 60 million while today population has grown to more than 240 million, but provinces remain the same although civil administration ballooned extensively. With emerging population growth, neighboring India and China created new administrative units in response to rising populations but Pakistan kept remained busy in political debates on this important subject. Four provinces were sufficient for 60 million people in 1970 but with a population of 240 million, Pakistan realistically needs 12 to 14 provinces to ensure balanced governance, equitable development, and national integration. It is pertinent to mention that after independence, India created several new provinces (unions—divided Indian Punjab into three units) to accommodate identity-based demands, while Pakistan avoided this path. Pakistan’s political elites and entrenched bureaucracy resisted power-sharing, adhering instead to the formula: “the more the land, the more the resources, the more the power.” India, with its diverse socio-economic, political, and cultural landscape, evolved into what scholars call a ‘quasi-federal state’, blending unitary and federal features. This flexible model allowed India to manage separatist tendencies by accommodating regional aspirations. Pakistan, on the other hand, adopted a fragile federal model under the Government of India Act of 1935, introducing federal, provincial, and concurrent legislative lists.
Even after the 18th Amendment, which devolved significant powers to the provinces, Pakistan’s federalism remains weak. Provinces enjoy the lion’s share of resources through the National Finance Commission (NFC) but avoid the responsibility of debt repayment, even when federal loans are used for projects within provinces. Provincial administrations also concentrate development resources in elite constituencies and urban centers, deepening socio-economic disparities while marginalizing remote regions.
Advocates of new provinces argue that they would improve governance, but critics highlight that Pakistan’s civil administration has collapsed. Without overhauling this system, new provinces would merely add an extra burden to the national exchequer. With a rapidly growing population and increasingly complex governance needs, the current administrative framework is inadequate.
Opponents, especially from KP and Sindh, warn that dividing provinces could deepen ethnic fault lines and cause instability. Independent thinkers, however, argue that recognizing distinct identities—such as Hindko speakers in Hazara, Potohari and Saraiki speakers in Punjab, or Urdu speakers in Sindh—would reduce political blackmailing and strengthen integration. Pakistan’s tragic 1971 disintegration remains a reminder of the dangers of ignoring ethnic and linguistic diversity. Today, voices demanding new provinces echo nationwide, making this a critical issue for governance and national security.
Academicians and political scientists through their research indicate that while considering new provinces, the state must decide whether it seeks a centralized structure, decentralization, or a hybrid model. Decentralization, through reorganizing sub-provincial identities, could integrate marginalized groups into the mainstream. Centralization, however, risks deepening alienation of smaller groups. Decentralization is also cost-effective if achieved by empowering local governments. In Pakistan provincial elites and bureaucracies have historically resisted strong local governance although all important parties support reforms in past. PPP’s 2012 proposal for a Saraiki province, PTI’s campaigned for South Punjab, and PML-N and MQM’s promises for Hazara and an urban Sindh province are on record, but all parties took U-turn once assumed power, reflecting how demands for provinces are often exploited for electoral gains rather than pursued as serious reforms.
The dilemma of Pakistan is tug of war among political parties and bureaucrats for more resources. Political parties consider forming new units within existing units as ‘dividing their political power’ but these parties are not ready to answer why they are afraid of dividing their vote bank if they are real national parties. Their fear actually shows that there is no national party left in Pakistan and all political parties are now just provincial level parties. This is serious collapse of political power of the parties and actually of the political system. Political parties should accept the reality that creating additional provinces is not merely a political issue, but a national necessity because effective governance requires smaller, more manageable administrative units that can address issues of health, education, infrastructure, and development at the local level. The demand for new provinces in Pakistan is neither new nor baseless. It arises from genuine grievances such as economic disparities, political exclusion, and administrative failures. The path forward lies in restructuring the civil administration, strengthening local governments, and ensuring equitable distribution of resources. The sitting government should also accept the reality that without comprehensive restructuring or complete overhauling of the civil administration system, the formation of new provinces will serve little purpose because inefficiency, corruption, and outdated structures of governance cannot fix with just forming new federating units rather new federating units would provide more opportunities to corrupted structure to get more money out of more units.
