THE need to have more provinces in Pakistan has never been felt greater than it is now to ensure good and effective governance, especially in the face of mounting security challenges. As such, about 240 million population of the country is managed by merely four administrative units. That being so, the resultant maladministration is not really surprising. Punjab, population-wise the largest province in the country, has been the biggest concern in this regard.

There is a general misunderstanding and fear among the people, stoked by those with vested interests, that the creation of new provinces will ‘divide’ the country into many parts, hurting the cause of integration as well as national unity. Of course, it will be divided, but only administratively; not in terms of polarisation.

As things stand, our politicians should consider the prevailing bad governance, and the consequent backwardness of the rural areas across the country. This happens because the rulers, sitting in the provincial capitals, do not have to interact with the masses in rural areas. The lop- sided focus on urban centres is a critical issue in Pakistan.

It must be clear to all that having more provinces does not mean dividing the country. It simply means ensuring political rights and good governance, leading to quality education, peace, prosperity and employment opportunities.

For instance, at the time of partition, India had only a few provinces. Today it has more than four times as many as it had back then. Iran has 31 provinces, and Afghanistan has 34 even though both these countries have smaller population counts than Pakistan.

Truly, the debate over the number of provinces in Pakistan is not new. From Gen Ziaul Haq to Gen Pervez Musharraf, many in power planned to go for new administrative units, but stopped short of it. Moreover, the creation of South Punjab province, in fact, is now a part of the political manifesto of most mainstream political parties, but this, too, has long been confined to merely ‘talks’.

It is time to give a concrete shape to such ‘talks’, and put in place a roadmap to follow in that direction. This will not only help strengthen the federation, but will also eradicate a lot of administrative hurdles.

Sangat Nazeer Zehri
Lahore

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2024