Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal has proposed the creation of 12 to 15 new provinces, urging Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to constitute a committee to review the country's administrative structure.
"I have proposed that a committee be made, on administrative reforms, through the law minister that can at least start a national and political debate on what can and cannot be done," he said. "At the end of the day, you need to build a political consensus to do this [create new provinces]." Iqbal added that he was waiting for the prime minister to return from Kyrgyzstan before taking up the matter with him.
Iqbal's proposal comes as a decades-old debate over Pakistan's provincial structure has resurfaced. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi raised the issue in July, and Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry called for a serious debate a day later. Minister Iqbal said Pakistan's four provinces had become increasingly centralised and monopolistic over the years, contributing to a breakdown in the delivery of social services such as health and education.
"I would say we need 12-15 new provinces," Iqbal said. "Divide all provinces into three each. But you will need to do an equitable distribution so for example if Punjab is divided into three provinces its share will increase in the Senate. If you want to create new provinces it has to be based on some equitable formula that does not change the representation too drastically in one direction."
Other officials, however, say there is no formal federal process underway yet. Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan, coordinator to the prime minister, said, "No such committee has been made at the federal level. There is no such talk on any forum officially." He added that even if new provinces were to be created, they would be created for the next election cycle.
Pakistan currently has four provinces, two autonomous territories and one federal capital territory. For decades, political parties and regional groups have periodically called for the creation of additional provinces. The latest debate began on July 30, when Naqvi argued that Pakistan's existing governance structure was no longer working.