Pakistan’s debate over new provinces has resurfaced at a time when the country’s governance structure is under increasing pressure. What began as a series of political statements has now developed into a broader national discussion about whether four provinces can effectively administer a population that has crossed 240 million, while delivering education, healthcare, infrastructure and justice across vast and increasingly urbanised territories.
The question, therefore, should not be reduced to whether Pakistan needs “more provinces”. The more fundamental question is whether the country’s present administrative architecture is capable of bringing the state closer to its citizens.
If it is not, then creating additional administrative units accompanied by genuine fiscal and political devolution deserves serious consideration.The debate has gained momentum in recent months.
When the provincial tier becomes too large
The 2023 census recorded Pakistan’s population at approximately 241.5 million. Punjab alone accounted for about 127.7 million people, Sindh 55.7 million, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 40.9 million and Balochistan 14.9 million.
These figures expose an important feature of Pakistan’s federal structure: the provinces are not comparable administrative entities in terms of population, geography or governance requirements.
Punjab contains more than half of the country’s population, while Balochistan covers an enormous geographical area with a much smaller and widely dispersed population. Sindh combines Karachi one of the country’s largest metropolitan centres with vast rural districts whose administrative and development requirements are entirely different. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, meanwhile, has acquired additional administrative complexity following the merger of the former tribal areas.
A single provincial government attempting to manage such diverse territories inevitably faces a difficult question of administrative reach.
The argument for smaller provinces is therefore not necessarily an argument for weakening the federation. It can instead be understood as an argument for making federalism more functional.
The unfinished promise of devolution
The 2010 reforms significantly shifted responsibilities and resources from the federation to the provinces. The World Bank’s latest assessment of Pakistan’s fiscal federalism notes that the 18th Amendment and the 7th NFC Award represented major steps towards devolution, but also concludes that structural weaknesses continue to affect fiscal discipline and the quality of public services.
More importantly, the problem did not end at the provincial level.
Pakistan’s Constitution itself recognises the importance of local government. Article 140-A requires each province to establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to elected local representatives.
A 2025 PIDE study described Pakistan’s devolution to local governments as unfinished, noting that local governments’ share of total government spending had fallen from around 10 per cent in 2005 to below 5 per cent in 2024.
The case for smaller provinces
A province that contains tens of millions of people and hundreds of thousands of square kilometres cannot be administered in the same manner as a smaller and more compact political unit.
Similar demands have emerged elsewhere. Radio Pakistan reported public calls from farmers, traders and residents in different parts of the country for new provinces and administrative units, with supporters arguing that smaller units could improve access to government services and address local grievances.
The real objective should be better governance
The World Bank’s 2026 assessment found that much of the increase in provincial spending since the 7th NFC Award has been absorbed by recurrent expenditure rather than directly improving education and health, while spending across districts has continued to reflect historical patterns rather than poverty and service-delivery needs.
This suggests that simply creating additional provincial capitals, assemblies and bureaucracies could increase administrative costs without necessarily improving outcomes.
The purpose of restructuring should therefore be different.
Likewise, if the alternative is 160 empowered districts, as proposed by Ahsan Iqbal, those districts must receive meaningful financial and administrative authority rather than merely being renamed administrative offices.
Pakistan’s administrative map cannot remain frozen
Pakistan’s territorial structure was designed for a country that no longer exists in demographic or economic terms. The population has expanded enormously, cities have grown into major metropolitan centres and the demands placed on the state have become more complex.
That does not mean that every problem requires a new province. It does mean that the administrative structure should no longer be treated as beyond examination.
The current debate offers Pakistan an opportunity to ask a much larger question: how should a modern federation distribute political authority, financial resources and administrative responsibility among the federal, provincial and local tiers of government?
New provinces may form part of that answer. Empowered local governments may form another. In some areas, metropolitan governments or stronger districts may be more appropriate than entirely new provinces.
For a country of Pakistan’s size and population, reconsidering the administrative map is no longer an abstract constitutional exercise. It is a question of how effectively the state can govern the people it already has.
Leadership over More Provinces
Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal has proposed a national discussion on creating 12 to 15 provinces, arguing that Pakistan’s four provinces have become increasingly centralised and that this has affected the delivery of essential services. He has also presented an alternative: empowering local governments across roughly 160 districts.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has separately argued that Pakistan’s growing population and changing requirements can no longer be adequately managed through the existing administrative structure.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has said parliament is the appropriate forum for debating the creation of new provinces, with discussions expected when the National Assembly and Senate meet in October.
