Ahsan Iqbal proposes 15 new provinces
Minister says existing two-tier system has failed to improve social indicators
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal proposed the creation of 15 new provinces or 160 fully empowered district governments to address Pakistan's deteriorating social indicators. Speaking at a consultative session on governance reforms for Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Iqbal argued that the two-tier federal-provincial system had failed to deliver effective governance and improve social outcomes.
He pointed out that Pakistan's democracy was monopolized by only 1,170 public offices catering to a population of 260 million, and that 150,000 to 200,000 public offices were needed to resolve people's problems. Iqbal, the secretary general of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), emphasized that Pakistan's democratic governance system requires a fully functional third tier of government.
The federal government had devolved 17 subjects to the provinces, but provinces did not devolve even one subject to local governments. Article 140-A of the Constitution provides for local government, but the provision is vague and requires further elaboration. Iqbal compared Pakistan's proposed 15 new provinces to India's 28 provinces and Afghanistan's 34 provinces, suggesting that if new provinces cannot be created, the alternative is to establish 160 district governments.
He presented a proposed administrative and governance structure for ICT, which is still at the draft stage and requires Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's approval. The proposed structure includes making ICT a province or a fully empowered local government to ensure administrative, financial, and political empowerment.
Written by urgent.news from The Express Tribune - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
