By Engr. Ghulam Habib
Chairman, Pakistan Professionals Democrats Party (PPDP)
The discussion about creating new provinces in Pakistan has once again entered the national political debate. The present government and various political circles have revived the question of whether Pakistan should be divided into more provinces for better administration and development.
Let me state my position clearly: Pakistan may need administrative reorganization, and in the long run there may be valid arguments for creating new provinces. However, creating new provinces under the existing political and administrative system is unlikely to bring meaningful benefits to the common people.
The real question is not simply how many provinces Pakistan should have. The real question is:
Will ordinary citizens receive more power, better services, faster justice, better administration and greater accountability?
If the answer is no, then creating new provinces will only create more government offices, more powerful positions, more expenditure and, ultimately, more financial pressure on the people.
We Must Learn From the Creation of New Districts
Before creating new provinces, the government should first examine the experience of the districts that were created or reorganized during the past decade.
Have these new districts received adequate hospitals, schools, colleges, administrative facilities, roads, water supply, sanitation, employment opportunities and development funds?
In many cases, the answer is disappointing.
Simply declaring a new district does not automatically produce development. A new district requires institutions, qualified personnel, financial resources and effective administration. If these are not provided, the new district remains largely a name on the map.
There is also a serious concern that new administrative units can become opportunities for distributing government positions among political allies and influential individuals rather than opportunities for genuine public service.
If the same approach is followed in creating new provinces, the result could simply be larger government without better governance.
A New Province Means a New Financial Burden
This is perhaps the most important issue that the public should consider.
Pakistan is already struggling with debt, fiscal deficits, inflation and limited development resources. Creating a province requires a large administrative structure.
There would be a governor, chief minister, provincial ministers, secretariat, provincial assembly, departments, senior bureaucrats, official residences, offices, vehicles, security arrangements and numerous supporting staff.
New buildings would be required. Existing offices would have to be expanded or duplicated. New departments would demand budgets. New positions would be created.
Who will ultimately pay for all of this?
The people of Pakistan.
And there is another possibility that must not be ignored: additional taxes and fees may eventually be imposed on citizens to finance the new provincial structures.
Therefore, before announcing new provinces, the government should publish a transparent financial assessment showing:
- The estimated cost of establishing each new province.
- The annual cost of running its government.
- The cost of new assemblies and secretariats.
- The cost of additional bureaucracy and infrastructure.
- The expected sources of revenue.
- Whether existing taxes will be sufficient.
- Whether new taxes or higher fees will be necessary.
- How much money will actually reach ordinary citizens for education, health, employment and development.
Without such an assessment, the public is being asked to support an administrative project without knowing its real financial consequences.
More Governors and Chief Ministers Do Not Automatically Mean More Democracy
A new province would naturally require new constitutional and administrative offices.
A governor would need an office and official facilities. A chief minister would need a secretariat. Ministers and members of the provincial assembly would require offices, staff, security and other facilities.
The bureaucracy would also seek new positions and departments.
This is not necessarily wrong in itself. A functioning government requires institutions. But the problem begins when institution-building becomes more important than public service.
The first priority of a new province should be hospitals, schools, universities, roads, clean water, local employment, agriculture, industry and justice.
It should not be the construction of luxurious offices.
Unfortunately, Pakistan has repeatedly demonstrated that government institutions can become expensive for the public while remaining ineffective in delivering services.
The British Example Must Be Understood Correctly
Some people argue that if the British could administer the entire subcontinent through a centralized structure, modern Pakistan should easily be able to manage a province or a larger administrative area with today’s technology.
There is an important lesson here.
The British colonial administration had an extremely centralized and disciplined administrative system. Communication and transportation were primitive compared with today’s standards, yet the state maintained a strong chain of command.
Today, Pakistan has modern communication technology, mobile phones, computers, digital records, the internet and increasingly sophisticated information systems.
Therefore, administrative distance alone is not a sufficient justification for creating new provinces.
The real issue is whether the government is willing and able to use modern technology and decentralize authority effectively.
The Real Problem Is the Concentration of Power
In my view, Pakistan’s biggest administrative problem is not simply the size of its provinces.
It is the concentration of power at the top.
Citizens see authority moving upward toward higher offices while elected local representatives often have very limited administrative and financial powers.
This is fundamentally inconsistent with the spirit of democracy.
A democracy cannot become truly effective if people elect local representatives but those representatives have no meaningful control over local development, municipal services, education, health, sanitation, roads and other community needs.
If local governments have no real authority, democracy remains incomplete.
Instead of immediately creating additional provincial governments, Pakistan should seriously consider transferring substantial administrative and financial powers to local governments.
Strengthen Local Government First
Imagine a system in which citizens can elect powerful local representatives who have authority over local development budgets.
A municipal representative should not have to travel repeatedly to a distant provincial capital simply to request funds for repairing a road, improving sanitation or establishing a basic public facility.
Local government should have:
- Clearly defined constitutional powers.
- Independent and predictable financial resources.
- Authority over local development.
- Professional administrative staff.
- Transparent budgeting.
- Public accountability.
- Regular elections.
- Digital monitoring of development projects.
This would bring government closer to the people without necessarily creating another expensive layer of government.
There Is Another Way to Create Administrative Units
If the objective is genuinely to bring administration closer to citizens, Pakistan does not necessarily have to begin with large provincial governments.
Administrative authority could first be decentralized through stronger districts and divisions.
For example, greater powers could be transferred to deputy commissioners and other properly empowered district-level administrations, accompanied by elected local governments and strong public oversight.
Another possibility would be establishing provincial administrative centers in smaller cities rather than concentrating every important government institution in an already overcrowded major city.
Modern technology also makes it possible to operate government from multiple locations.
A government does not necessarily need a massive permanent secretariat building before it can begin functioning. In an emergency or transitional situation, temporary facilities—even properly organized temporary administrative centers—could be used while permanent infrastructure is developed.
The objective should be administrative efficiency, not architectural extravagance.
We Have Already Seen Empty Government Positions
There is another question that deserves serious attention.
How can a government promise rapid development through new provinces when existing government posts and institutions can remain understaffed or vacant for years?
If authorities cannot efficiently fill existing vacancies, appoint qualified officers on time, provide essential facilities and ensure that existing districts receive their allocated resources, why should citizens believe that another layer of government will suddenly become efficient?
Before creating new provinces, the government should demonstrate that it can effectively manage the administrative structures it already possesses.
Corruption Must Be Addressed First
Nobody in Pakistan needs to be told that corruption remains a serious problem.
If a new province is created without strong accountability mechanisms, there is a danger that corruption will simply be decentralized rather than eliminated.
Instead of one center where citizens encounter administrative difficulties, they could find several centers with similar problems.
The creation of a new province must therefore be accompanied by:
- Transparent procurement.
- Digital government records.
- Public disclosure of budgets.
- Independent auditing.
- Strong anti-corruption institutions.
- Transparent recruitment.
- Merit-based promotions.
- Public access to development information.
- Effective freedom of information.
- Real accountability of elected representatives and civil servants.
Otherwise, the new province could become a new marketplace for political appointments, contracts and administrative influence.
Population Growth Is Not an Argument Against Human Life
I want to make one distinction very clear.
I am not opposed to the growth of human population.
Human beings are not a burden to humanity. Every human being represents potential knowledge, creativity, labor, innovation and progress.
The world has experienced wars and disasters throughout history, and unfortunately, no society can assume that its present circumstances will remain unchanged forever.
I also believe that technological development may eventually allow humanity to utilize new environments and resources in ways that we cannot fully imagine today. With rapid progress in information technology, artificial intelligence, space technology and other sciences, the possibilities for the future are enormous.
Therefore, I do not believe that the solution to population growth is simply to oppose population growth.
The responsible approach is different:
Population should grow alongside resources, economic opportunities, infrastructure and responsible planning.
If a population increases, governments and societies must increase their capacity to provide food, housing, education, healthcare, employment and other necessities.
And neighboring communities or regions cannot be expected to carry unlimited responsibility for another region’s population growth. Every society must plan its population and resources responsibly while cooperating peacefully with others.
The goal should be development without conflict.
New Provinces May Be Necessary—But Not Like This
I am not saying that Pakistan should never create new provinces.
There may be genuine geographical, administrative, economic and cultural reasons for reorganizing the federation in the future.
But the process must be based on public interest, constitutional principles, economic feasibility, administrative capacity and genuine democratic consent.
A new province should not be created merely because a political party wants another chief minister, another governor, another assembly or another collection of government positions.
Nor should provincial boundaries be redrawn merely to satisfy political interests.
The people must come first.
What Should Pakistan Do Now?
Before creating new provinces, I believe Pakistan should undertake the following reforms:
First: Conduct an independent assessment of all recently created districts.
Second: Strengthen local governments and give elected local representatives real financial and administrative powers.
Third: Digitize government administration so that citizens can access services without repeatedly visiting government offices.
Fourth: Fill existing vacancies with qualified people before creating thousands of new positions.
Fifth: Publish the complete financial cost of every proposed new province.
Sixth: Clearly disclose whether new taxes or increased fees will be required to finance the proposed provincial structures.
Seventh: Establish strong mechanisms to prevent political appointments, corruption and misuse of development funds.
Eighth: Hold meaningful public consultations in the regions concerned.
Ninth: Ensure that any future provincial reorganization is based on democratic consensus rather than political convenience.
The Question We Should Ask
The debate over new provinces should not be:
“How many provinces should Pakistan have?”
The more important question is:
“How can we bring government closer to the ordinary citizen at the lowest possible cost and with the highest possible accountability?”
If creating a new province achieves that objective, then it deserves serious consideration.
But if it only creates another governor, another chief minister, another assembly, another secretariat, thousands of additional government positions, expensive buildings and eventually additional taxes on the people, then we must ask whether we are actually solving a problem or simply creating another one.
Pakistan does not need more government for the sake of government.
Pakistan needs better government.
It needs a government that reaches the citizen, listens to the citizen, serves the citizen and remains accountable to the citizen.
That is the true test of democracy.
Engr. Ghulam Habib
Chairman, Pakistan Professionals Democrats Party (PPDP)