{"id":10722,"date":"2026-08-12T09:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=10722"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:46:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:46:17","slug":"new-provinces-necessary-to-strengthen-pakistan-says-mustafa-kamal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=10722","title":{"rendered":"New Provinces Necessary to Strengthen Pakistan, Says Mustafa Kamal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ISLAMABAD:<\/strong> Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal has called for the creation of new provinces in Pakistan, arguing that the country\u2019s existing administrative structure is no longer adequate to effectively serve its rapidly growing population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the Pakistan Pharma Healthcare Expo<\/strong>, Mustafa Kamal said that discussions about provinces often triggered debates about honour and dignity, but questioned why the same concerns were not raised when children died after falling into open sewer drains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhenever the issue of provinces comes up, people start talking about honour and dignity. But when children fall into gutters and die, why does nobody\u2019s honour awaken?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The federal minister said that the creation of new provinces had become necessary and that the country needed to reconsider its existing administrative structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pointed out that the federal government distributes approximately Rs8.884 trillion<\/strong> annually among the provinces, but argued that there was no effective mechanism to ensure that these funds reached the Union Council level and were used to address problems faced by ordinary citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa Kamal said the geographical size of Pakistan\u2019s provinces was another reason to consider creating additional administrative units. He claimed that Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were larger in area than several countries, while Sindh was larger than 165 countries and Balochistan was larger than 180 countries in terms of territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, managing such large provinces through a centralized provincial administration creates difficulties in delivering public services effectively to people living in distant and less-developed areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also highlighted Pakistan’s population growth as a major reason for reconsidering the current four-province structure. He said that when Pakistan’s population was around 37 million<\/strong>, the country had four provinces, and today, with the population having reached approximately 265 million<\/strong>, there were still only four provinces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister compared Pakistan’s administrative structure with those of other countries. He noted that Sri Lanka has nine provinces, Iran has 23 provinces, while India has a significantly larger number of administrative units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa Kamal argued that the creation of additional provinces or administrative units would not necessarily weaken the country. Instead, he said, decentralization could strengthen Pakistan by bringing government closer to the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCreating provinces does not break a country; it makes the country stronger,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The federal minister linked administrative shortcomings to some of the political, social and security problems facing Pakistan. He questioned whether there was something fundamentally wrong with the existing system when people became alienated from the state and, in some cases, took up arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that fighting was currently taking place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan<\/strong>, while military officers and personnel were losing their lives. He alleged that external elements were also involved in the conflict and stressed that the country’s administrative and governance system needed fundamental improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa Kamal maintained that security problems could not be addressed solely through military measures and that weaknesses in governance also needed to be tackled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He emphasized the need for political parties to sit together and discuss the country’s administrative challenges. According to him, a constitutional solution should be developed to address the problems facing the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The federal minister also praised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif<\/strong>, saying that the prime minister works for around 14 hours a day. He remarked that working with the prime minister was difficult because he remained highly focused on his responsibilities and did not tolerate unnecessary discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa Kamal noted that Shehbaz Sharif had also served as chief minister three times, giving him considerable experience in provincial administration and governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the minister said that it was not the prime minister’s responsibility to personally address every municipal problem, such as placing covers over open sewer drains. Instead, he argued, the government needed to strengthen the system so that such basic civic issues were resolved automatically through functioning institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that governance should be designed in a way that allows local authorities to respond quickly to problems affecting citizens without requiring intervention from the federal or provincial leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister’s remarks reflect a long-running debate in Pakistan over the creation of new provinces and additional administrative units. Supporters of the proposal argue that smaller provinces could improve governance, administrative efficiency and resource distribution, while opponents have expressed concerns about political, ethnic and constitutional implications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa Kamal nevertheless insisted that the issue should be discussed through political and constitutional channels rather than treated as a matter of political confrontation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called on all political parties to come together and find constitutional solutions to the country’s administrative and governance challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister’s comments also focused attention on the gap between the allocation of public funds and the delivery of services at the grassroots level. He argued that large amounts of money are transferred to provincial governments, but ordinary citizens often continue to face basic problems involving sanitation, infrastructure, health and municipal services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His criticism of open sewer drains was intended to illustrate this disconnect. While governments debate major political and constitutional questions, he said, citizens continue to suffer because basic governance systems do not function effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa Kamal’s proposal for new provinces is therefore rooted in his broader argument that Pakistan needs a more decentralized and responsive governance structure. He believes that administrative units closer to the people could improve accountability and ensure that public resources reach communities more efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also stressed that strengthening the country’s administrative system was important for national unity and security. In his view, addressing governance failures and political grievances could help reduce alienation and contribute to stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The federal minister concluded by urging political forces to set aside political differences and work together on constitutional reforms. He said Pakistan needed a system capable of delivering effective public services, ensuring accountability and responding to the needs of its rapidly growing population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His remarks have once again brought the question of new provinces and administrative restructuring into the national debate, particularly amid continuing concerns over governance, resource distribution, security and the delivery of basic public services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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