SIALKOT: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has supported the creation of new provinces in Pakistan, saying even 12 could be considered if administrative needs, rather than linguistic, ethnic or political interests, guide the process.
Asif said discussions about additional provinces had continued for approximately two months, with opinions emerging from different parts of the country.
Asif argued that Pakistan’s growing population required smaller administrative units capable of delivering public services more effectively.
He maintained that any restructuring should respond to governance challenges and the needs of citizens.
The minister’s support was conditional: new provinces should serve administrative purposes rather than strengthen divisions based on language, ethnicity or political interests.
He suggested that the number of provinces mattered less than the principles guiding their formation.
The defence minister called for administrative authority to move beyond Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar, saying smaller units should receive powers currently concentrated in provincial capitals.
He also questioned the distribution of financial resources, arguing that funds transferred by the federal government remained under provincial control while local government institutions continued to depend on provincial authorities.
The resources should reach the institutions responsible for addressing local needs. His comments linked the debate over new provinces with the wider issue of transferring authority and funding closer to communities.
Asif urged political leaders to reconsider their desire to retain extensive powers, describing authority as a public trust.
He said elected representatives should recognise that citizens entrusted them with power.
The arrangement under consideration could divide Punjab into four provinces, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan into three each, and Sindh into two.
The report also suggested a nationwide referendum could precede a possible 28th Constitutional Amendment.
However, these possibilities remain under discussion. No final decision has been announced on provincial boundaries, administrative arrangements or the constitutional process, leaving the proposed restructuring’s eventual scope and timing uncertain at this stage.
