Cover Story 
 

Cover Story

The Provincial Veto

Creating an administrative unit is the absolute domain of the provincial assembly, not Parliament or the Centre

By Anwar Mansoor Khan | October 2026

The sudden declaration, which was not an answer to a question, astonished many. Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi delivered an honest and blunt speech at the Pakistan Economic Summit 2026 in Islamabad on July 30, 2026, declaring that the present system had collapsed and was incapable of solving structural crises without major national consensus. In the same speech, he urged all political parties to sit together and build a consensus on creating new administrative units and provinces to decentralize power. These remarks by the minister, who, as a member of the government, has triggered an intense political, legal and constitutional debate across media platforms, have drawn cautious pushback from coalition partners such as the PPP regarding the redrawing of provincial boundaries. Rumours on social media, commentaries by renowned anchors, and comments in talk shows now suggest that Provinces or Administrative Units could be carved out.

The idea of creating new provinces in Pakistan is not new and has been debated many times. Given the country’s growing population, governing large expanses of geography has become challenging. This issue is not merely about creating Provinces or Administrative Units; it goes much further and strikes at the very basis and foundation of the Constitution. Pakistan is a country comprising four federating units. The Constitution clearly states that it is a “Federal Republic”. Though a federation, the power and authority under the 1973 Constitution were divided between the Centre and the Provinces in a manner that left the Provinces without the required autonomy to manage their internal affairs independently.

In 2010, the Federal Parliament promulgated the 18th Constitutional Amendment, under which the law-making power of the Parliament was curtailed and limited to the Fourth Schedule, while the Concurrent List, under which both the Province and the Centre were allowed to promulgate laws, was done away with. This truly introduced the concept of “Federalism”.

The Provinces constituting Pakistan, after the 18th Amendment, could work with some degree of autonomy. This autonomy was achieved through an amendment to the Constitution. Any action intended to interfere with the autonomy of the Provinces and their boundaries by modifying provisions of the Constitution through means other than those provided by the Constitution would violate its command. Any action to create Administrative Units by the Federation through Parliament would amount to a violation of the Constitution, as such authority is not contained in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution.



The Constitution defines the territories of Pakistan as consisting of four provinces, with Islamabad as the Federal Capital Territory. There is no cavil with the fact that new Provinces can and should be created, but this would require an amendment to the Constitution. Such an amendment could only be made in the manner contemplated by Articles 238 and 239. Except for an amendment altering the boundaries of a Province, all other amendments to the Constitution require a two-thirds majority of both Houses of Parliament. However, for creating new Provinces, the boundaries of the Provinces would need to be altered, and Article 2 would also need to be amended. As such, the amendment would have to be conducted in the manner provided by Article 239(4), which categorically provides that a bill passed by Parliament cannot be presented to the President for his assent unless it has been passed by the Provincial Assembly of that Province by the votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership. Creating an Administrative Unit is the absolute domain of the Provincial Assembly and not Parliament or the Centre.

Article 239(4) of the Constitution provides that the boundaries of a province cannot be altered, nor can administrative units be created, without an express resolution of the Provincial Assembly

The Provinces are federating units to which protection has been given by the Constitution. I recall the speech of Mr Hafeez Pirzada in the National Assembly at the time the Bill to provide a Constitution for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was placed, where he said that “—power between the Centre and Provinces was settled to the satisfaction of everyone.” And further that “The principles of Federalism was resolved, --”. However, after 37 years, further amendments were made, thereby giving more autonomy to the Provinces and strengthening Federalism. The federating units, since the Amendment, have continued to work under this system, where taking away their rights provided by the Constitution, or modifying the same through any means other than those provided by the Constitution, would in fact amount to disturbing the Basic Structure of the Constitution. Namely, it would take away the power and authority of the Provincial Assembly when it could refuse to act to change the boundaries of the Province or create Administrative Units.

In the case of Mahmood Khan Achakzai versus The Federation of Pakistan (PLD 1997 SC 426), the Supreme Court held that “the legislature cannot alter the basic features of the Constitution, which are federalism, Parliamentary democracy and Islamic nature”. The judgment went further to say that the Constitution cannot be amended “-- in violation of the Islamic provisions or converted into an undemocratic one only by public opinion or a political settlement.” Though two subsequent judgments of the Supreme Court, namely Wukala Mahaz Barai Tahafuz Dastoor Versus Federation of Pakistan (PLD 1998 SC 1263) and Pakistan Lawyers Forum Versus Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2005 SC 719), rejected the Basic Structure theory, the most recent judgment, namely District Bar Association Rawalpindi Versus Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2015 SC 401), held by a majority that the Supreme Court had the power to strike down any Constitutional amendment if it violated or altered the basic features of the Constitution, which are ascertainable from the Constitution, including democracy, Parliamentary form of Government and independence of the judiciary.

The Preamble categorically states that it is the will of the people of Pakistan to establish an order, and further states that it is for the preservation of democracy that the people say: “give to ourselves the Constitution”. Altering the same would be by acceptance by the people as provided in the Constitution. The Constitution is a sacred document, where we have, in the 26th and 27th Amendments, seen tinkering therein for political gains. Those Constitutional Amendments were made under Article 239(1) to (3) by a two-thirds majority of both Houses, and thus may be termed lawful amendments, though motivated. The Constitution, however, by Article 239(4), commands that the boundaries of a Province cannot be changed, nor can Administrative Units be created without the express resolution of the Provincial Assembly, as discussed above. Any change caused by means other than those provided would amount to violating the Constitution and the authority of the federating Province, contrary to the principles on which Federalism stands and, obliquely, violating the basic feature of the Constitution.

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