Pakistan: Can creating new provinces fix governance?

A politically sensitive debate has reignited in Pakistan over whether its four-province system can effectively govern a country of around 260 million people.

Ahsan Iqbal, minister for planning and development, recently called for a national political debate on administrative reform. He proposed creating 12 to 15 new provinces or setting up 160 empowered district governments to improve governance and the delivery of public services.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who first raised the idea of an administrative "reset" in July, said on Saturday that any new administrative units should be created with public support.

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, meanwhile, has called for greater decentralization and devolution of power to the grassroots.

Despite the growing calls to create new provinces, no formal decision has been taken.

Even within the ruling coalition, there is disagreement over how and when such reforms should be pursued.

There are also questions about whether creating smaller provinces improves governance, or whether devolving power directly to local governments would be more effective.

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