Islamabad : Mustafa Kamal, Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, has said administrative restructuring should ultimately be judged by whether it reduces citizens’ sense of exclusion and improves service delivery.
Kamal was participating in a national debate on “Should Pakistan create more administrative units?” convened here by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
Mr Kamal 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 also said proposals for new provinces should be backed by public support.
Qamar Zaman Kaira, PPP leader and former Information Minister, noted that the debate over administrative restructuring is not new and cautioned that any reform process should be managed carefully so that it does not deepen inter-provincial or inter-regional sensitivities over resource distribution. He said the 18th Constitutional Amendment increased the provincial share of the divisible pool from 46 to 57 per cent, but argued that much of the power and resources devolved to provinces had not subsequently moved down to local governments.
Aqeel Malik, Minister of State for Law and Justice, 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 also highlighted the 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.
Nadeem Afzal Chan, PPP leader and former Member of National Assembly, 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.
Danyal Chaudhry, Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting, 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 at least a decade-long view of financial sustainability. He also stressed the need for political, administrative and financial devolution to the grassroots.
Liaqat Baloch, Naib Ameer, Jamaat-i-Islami, said the creation of new provinces and the 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.
Asad Umar, former Federal Minister, described declining public trust in state institutions and excessive centralisation as major governance challenges. He proposed a three-tier NFC arrangement through which resources would be distributed among the federal, provincial and local governments according to a defined formula. He said new provinces should be considered where there is strong public demand and argued that the economic case for larger or smaller provinces should be assessed through evidence rather than assumptions.
Salman Akram Raja, PTI Secretary-General, argued that Pakistan already has divisions, districts and Tehsils that require greater empowerment. He said even splitting Punjab into three provinces would leave each unit larger in population than most European countries. He called for clearly enumerated constitutional, administrative, political and financial powers for local governments, including stronger constitutional protection for Provincial Finance Commission arrangements. He further said any restructuring of provincial boundaries must follow the process prescribed under Article 239 and could not be substituted by a referendum.
In his concluding remarks, Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI, said 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.
© 2026 SDPI. All Rights Reserved Design & Developed by NKMIS WEB Unit
