News Desk – Pakistan is once again discussing the idea of creating more provinces a debate that has been going on for decades. But this time, the government seems more serious about the move.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Communications, Abdul Aleem Khan, said that the country will “definitely” create smaller provinces. He claimed that dividing large provinces into smaller ones would improve governance and help deliver better services to people.
However, experts and political observers believe this move could do more harm than good.
The plan comes at a time when the Pakistani government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and backed by the powerful military, is facing growing unrest in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Both provinces have strong movements demanding more rights and in some cases, independence.
Aleem Khan said Pakistan could be divided into at least 12 provinces three each from Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He argued that many neighboring countries already have smaller administrative units.
His party, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), is part of the ruling coalition in Islamabad and supports the idea. The MQM-P, a major party in Sindh, has also said it will push for new provinces through a constitutional amendment.
But not everyone agrees.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), a key coalition partner, is strongly against dividing Sindh. Last month, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah warned that his party would not accept any attempt to split the province.
Sindh has historically been sensitive to such demands, especially in Karachi, where the MQM-P has long called for a separate administrative unit.
Several experts argue that simply creating more provinces will not fix Pakistan’s deep-rooted problems.
Former police officer and bureaucrat Syed Akhtar Ali Shah said Pakistan’s main issue is weak governance, not the size of provinces.
He explained that past attempts to reorganize provinces actually made tensions worse. According to him, Pakistan needs stronger institutions, better law enforcement, and accountable local governments not new borders.
Think-tank president Ahmed Bilal Mehboob agreed. In his article, he wrote that creating new provinces would be expensive, politically difficult, and may worsen divisions. He said power should instead be devolved to local governments, as the Constitution already requires.
