A high-level national debate convened by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad brought together political leaders, policymakers, technocrats and civil society representatives for a wide-ranging discussion on how Pakistan could improve governance and service delivery. The debate examined multiple reform options, including creation of new provinces and administrative units, more empowered local governments, fiscal devolution, institutional reform and better alignment of the government structure with the need of citizens.
The debate – Should Pakistan create more administrative units? – was attended by senior representatives of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Pakistan People’s Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F, federal ministers, technocrats and civil society representatives. The participants offered different perspectives on the appropriate structure and scale of governance, with some supporting the creation of new provinces or smaller administrative units, others stressing empowerment of existing tiers, and many arguing that these options should be assessed together rather than treated as mutually exclusive.
A recurring theme was that any governance restructuring should be informed by constitutional requirements, public demand, fiscal sustainability, administrative capacity and its likely impact on service delivery. The participants highlighted the need for stronger devolution of political, administrative and financial authority so that governance structures, whether existing or newly-created, could respond more effectively to citizens. Federal Minister for National Health Services Mustafa Kamal said that the administrative restructuring should ultimately be judged by whether it reduces citizens’ sense of exclusion and improves service delivery.
He argued that smaller administrative units could bring government closer to citizens and stressed that local governments would remain an essential part of the governance architecture regardless of the number of provinces. He said that the proposals for new provinces should be backed by public support. State Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik said citizens most frequently approach elected representatives over local service delivery issues such as roads, streets and sewerage, underscoring the need for effective local governments.
He highlighted financial constraints affecting meaningful devolution and proposed simultaneous national, provincial and local government elections for uniform terms, with local bodies receiving constitutional protection against premature dissolution. Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Barrister Danyal Chaudhry said the question of new provinces should be approached constitutionally and through evidence. He called for detailed assessment of the revenue base, expenditure requirements and long-term fiscal impact of any proposed province, including a decade-long view of financial sustainability. He stressed the need for political, administrative and financial devolution to the grassroots.
PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira noted that the debate over administrative restructuring was not new and cautioned that any reform process should be managed carefully so that it did not deepen inter-provincial or inter-regional sensitivities over resource distribution. PPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chan called for political and state stakeholders to develop a consensus-based reform agenda. He identified judicial and electoral reform, intra-party democracy and rule of law as related governance priorities, and said any discussion on administrative restructuring should remain anchored in the constitutional framework.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaquat Baloch said that the creation of new provinces and strengthening of local governments should be considered alongside broader fiscal and constitutional reforms. He called for more effective use of the Council of Common Interests to address disputes between the federation and provinces, particularly over resources, water and other constitutional matters. PTI leader Asad Umar proposed a three-tier NFC arrangement through which resources would be distributed among the federal, provincial and local governments according to a defined formula.
Former Lahore mayor, Mian Aamer Mahmood supported evidence-based consideration of new provinces, arguing that the objective should be citizens’ welfare and easier access to public services rather than territorial division for its own sake. He called for greater accountability of elected representatives, stronger political parties and further devolution from provinces to lower tiers of the government. Rana Ihsan Afzal, coordinator to the prime minister on commerce, said the discussion should extend beyond the number of provinces to the wider question of vertical devolution and the creation of financially autonomous, continuous and empowered local governments.
Drawing comparisons with China, he said local governments should be linked more closely to economic performance, investment, exports and local development, while federal and provincial development spending should be better coordinated around national economic priorities. PTI leader Salman Akram Raja argued that Pakistan already has divisions, districts and tehsils that require greater empowerment. MQM-P leader MNA Aasia Ishaque advocated the creation of smaller provinces for effective administration but strongly opposed dividing provinces on linguistic or ethnic lines. She called for a combination of smaller administrative units and a robust local government system with clearly defined powers under Article 140-A of the constitution.
Former Public Account Committee chairman MNA Noor Alam Khan called for comprehensive governance reforms before and alongside the creation of new provinces. He said that the Article 239 and the constitutional requirement of a two-thirds parliamentary majority must be respected in any attempt to create new provinces. Journalist and analyst Muhammad Mallick said that structural changes would remain ineffective without changing institutional behavior and political culture. PTI leader Fawad Hussain Chaudhry said that any restructuring should proceed through political consensus rather than unilateral decisions.
Zahoor Dhareeja, an advocate of a separate province for Seraiki language community, argued that the creation of a new province was essential to address the region’s governance, representation, employment and identity-related challenges. PTI leader Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that any move towards new provinces must be preceded by broad political consensus, without which their legitimacy would be undermined. A national commission should be constituted, with parliamentary and political-party representation, and mandated to deliberate the issue with all stakeholders, he said.
In his concluding remarks, SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said that the debate demonstrated the value of bringing different governance options into a common policy discussion. He noted that participants presented varied views on new administrative units and provinces, while also identifying strong local governments, effective fiscal devolution and improved service delivery as important elements of any future governance framework. Former Ministry of Finance adviser Dr Khaqan Hassan Najeeb, former federal minister Muhammad Ali Durrani; and Supreme Court Bar Association President Haroun ur Rashid also shared their opinion on the topic.
