“New provinces could further divide an already divided nation”

Chaudhry Kabir Ahmad Khan, a senior PML-N leader and retired bureaucrat, began his career as a first-class magistrate. He later worked with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as a legal consultant, served as an adviser to the Office of the Ombudsman Punjab, Lahore, and was also the managing director of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC).

SouthAsia: Should Pakistan create more provinces? Why and why not?

Chaudhry Kabir Ahmad: We should first examine our priorities: should we create more provinces, or should we address the more important and pressing issues facing the country? Do we want to strengthen the sovereignty, integrity, and unity of the country, or create further divisions by dividing the nation into different factions based on linguistic and ethnic identities, such as Urdu-speaking, Saraiki, Punjabi, Pothohari, Hindko, Pakhtun, Pashto, and Balochi communities? Should we focus our efforts on providing citizens with basic necessities of life—such as food, fuel, healthcare, and education—at affordable rates, or should we allow these urgent needs to go unaddressed while creating more provinces and accommodating additional political leadership in these areas? Before the creation of Pakistan, the United Punjab, extending from Gurgaon in India to Attock, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Rahim Yar Khan, was administered under one Chief Minister/Governor, Chief Secretary, Chief Justice, Inspector General of Police, and other senior officials. Law and order was also better maintained despite the limited means of communication, transportation, and telephone networks compared with the advanced facilities available today. Today, Punjab, with a population of more than 120 million, is being governed more effectively than the other provinces. Essential services and facilities—including healthcare, transportation, road networks, and education—are being provided across the province. The Suthra Punjab sanitation workers are active even in far-flung areas such as Dera Ghazi Khan and Haroonabad, just as they are in Lahore. Why, then, should Punjab be punished for its comparatively better governance?

SouthAsia: Do you believe the creation of new provinces is the answer to Pakistan’s governance crisis?
Chaudhry Kabir Ahmad: Governance and administration are implemented primarily through the district administration. Even if a Chief Minister were appointed at the district level, the day-to-day problems of ordinary people would still be dealt with by the police, patwari, tehsildar, magistrate, Assistant Commissioner, and civil judge. The creation of new provinces would not, by itself, ensure cheaper food or medicines for the common man. Our country is already burdened by enormous loans from foreign agencies and countries, as well as domestic banks and companies, including IPPs. The creation of new provinces would require the construction of new assembly halls, chambers for speakers, ministers and MPAs, hostels, offices for Chief Secretaries, Chief Justices, and Inspectors General, Ombudsmen’s offices, staff residences, and numerous other administrative facilities. Can a country like Pakistan afford such a heavy financial burden? New provinces could further divide an already divided nation.

SouthAsia: Should a referendum be considered as a complementary mechanism to build public legitimacy?
Chaudhry Kabir Ahmad: New provinces may be created at an appropriate time, and Balochistan could be considered first, provided that all constitutional requirements are fulfilled. Regarding the demand for additional provinces, the will of the people should be established through a transparent and constitutionally valid democratic process.