Pakistan Bar Council member opposes push for new provinces

Islamabad: A high-ranking official from the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has called for the council to reconvene and thoroughly examine a proposal to establish new provinces, asserting that the body, as the representative of Pakistan's legal community, must treat the issue with due diligence. In a two-page letter directed at PBC Vice Chairman Pir Masood Chishty, Advocate Salahuddin Ahmed referred to a resolution adopted by the PBC on August 7, 2026, which stressed that new provinces, if deemed necessary, must be created through the constitutional process and after achieving national agreement.

The resolution had also announced a seminar inviting all political parties to foster a national consensus to bolster the federation and enhance governance.

Ahmed noted that the issue had recently resurfaced in the national discourse due to a speech by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on the need for new administrative divisions. The proposal was swiftly backed the following day during an Inter-Services Public Relations press briefing. The letter highlighted his astonishment at the subsequent endorsement of the proposal by several prominent PBC members, including SCBA President Haroonur Rashid, who supported it in a speech during a reference for a retiring Supreme Court judge.

Ahmed expressed skepticism, stating, "With all due respect, I do not believe that the majority of Pakistani lawyers support this proposal, let alone have any inclination to initiate a movement for it."

He further contended that there was no justification for the Bar to assume any role in initiating a national debate or reaching consensus on the matter. "Let those who have proposed this solution bear the responsibility," the letter asserted. Ahmed emphasized that the proposal and its underlying motives were questionable, pointing out that for years, the same advocates of additional provinces had previously argued that Pakistan's most significant administrative challenge was the excessive power and resource allocation to provinces following the 18th Amendment and the 7th NFC Award.

"Now, they claim the greatest administrative challenge is the scarcity of provinces," Ahmed remarked, questioning how they could advocate for increased centralization and decentralization simultaneously.