The debate over the creation of new provinces in Pakistan is once again gaining momentum, and it now appears to be moving beyond a mere proposal or political slogan towards an actual intention. But the very first question we must ask is: Is the real problem facing Pakistan the number of provinces, their geographical boundaries, or the administrative map? Or is the real problem the system of governance itself—where merit is weakened, accountability is ineffective, transparency is inadequate, institutional responsibility is limited, and the principle of “the right man at the right place” is frequently ignored? If an ordinary citizen cannot be assured of justice, merit, transparency and protection of his rights from state institutions, what fundamental difference will creating new provinces make to his life? Can we really cure the disease of the system simply by drawing new lines on the administrative map? This is the fundamental question the nation must answer before embarking on the debate over new provinces.

There may certainly be genuine administrative and public reasons for creating new provinces in certain areas. Bringing government closer to the people, providing greater development opportunities to neglected regions, ensuring a fairer distribution of resources and improving administrative efficiency are legitimate objectives. But the question remains: Will merely increasing the number of provinces automatically solve these problems?

Will governance suddenly improve after new provinces are created? Will corruption disappear? Will accountability become effective? Will transparency automatically enter government affairs? Will merit finally prevail? Will competent people be placed in positions according to their ability?
If the fundamental causes of our present problems are poor governance, weak accountability, lack of transparency, political interference, disregard for merit and institutional weakness, then we must ask whether simply drawing new lines on the administrative map can possibly cure these ailments.

History offers us an important lesson here.
In the early years of Pakistan, when the country operated under the One Unit system and the whole of West Pakistan constituted a single province, Malik Amir Mohammad Khan of Kalabagh was the Governor of West Pakistan. There may be legitimate differences of opinion about the political system and style of governance of that period, but it is equally difficult to deny that administrative discipline, governmental authority and supervision over the bureaucracy were strongly emphasized.
Consider the circumstances of that time.
There was no social media, no WhatsApp, no email, no mobile phones, no 24-hour television channels and nothing remotely comparable to today’s instant access to information. Distances were greater, communication channels were limited and the movement of information was extremely slow by today’s standards.
Yet West Pakistan, stretching from Karachi to the far north-west and covering vast geographical areas, was being administered as a single administrative unit.

Today, we possess extraordinarily advanced communication systems. Almost everyone has a mobile phone. The internet can transmit information from one corner of the world to another within seconds. Social media can bring any incident before the entire country almost instantly. Digital records, electronic systems and modern monitoring tools are available to the state—resources that were unimaginable at that time.

So the question is:
If discipline, merit and governmental authority could be maintained across such a vast administrative unit in that era, why can they not be maintained today?
The real question is not whether a province is large or small.
The real question is: What kind of system governs it?
If officials are appointed on merit, recruitment is transparent, decisions are made according to law, accountability is impartial, public resources are protected, political interference is controlled and the principle of “Right Man at the Right Place” is genuinely implemented, even a large administrative unit can be governed effectively.

But if these principles are absent, even the smallest province cannot guarantee good governance.
This brings us to another, perhaps even more fundamental question:
Who will govern the new provinces?
Will entirely new people descend from the sky to administer them? Or will the same political leadership, the same administrative culture, the same bureaucracy, the same political influence, the same methods of appointment and the same decision-making practices simply be transferred to the new provinces?

The people who are governing Pakistan’s four existing provinces today—if the same political leadership, administrative culture and decision-making mechanisms are transferred to ten or twelve smaller provinces tomorrow—where exactly will the difference come from?
Will merely making provinces smaller change the mindset of those governing them? Will it change the culture of bureaucracy? Will it automatically improve performance?

If the existing four provinces already have elected assemblies, governments, cabinets, bureaucracies, police forces, development budgets and extensive decision-making powers, why can these very powers not be used to establish merit, transparency, accountability and good governance today?

If a political leadership genuinely cares about Pakistan, believes in merit, considers transparency a principle, wants competent people in the right positions and genuinely wants to provide better governance to the people, then it should be able to demonstrate these principles within the existing four provinces.
If it cannot be done in four provinces, how will it suddenly be done in ten or twelve?

New provinces are not a magic wand.
Changing boundaries does not automatically change people.
Changing a secretariat does not change political culture.
Creating a new province does not automatically create merit.
Creating a new assembly does not automatically create transparency.
And creating a new cabinet does not automatically make accountability effective.

Real change has to come in the behaviour of those in authority, the functioning of institutions and the principles of governance.

There is another extremely important question that deserves an answer.
If the forces and powers capable of transforming Pakistan’s existing four provinces into ten, twelve or even more provinces possess that much political and administrative power, why can the same power not be used to fix the existing system of governance?

If there is enough authority to redraw the administrative map of the country, is there not enough authority to ensure merit?
If there is enough power to divide four provinces into ten or twelve, is there not enough power to control corruption?

If such a large political and administrative machinery can be mobilized to create new provinces, why cannot the same machinery be mobilized to establish transparency, accountability and the rule of law?

If a new distribution of resources is possible, why is it not possible to stop the reckless use and wastage of existing resources?

If new governments, new assemblies, new secretariats and new administrative structures can be established, why cannot the existing institutions ensure the right man at the right place?

So, what exactly is the problem?
Is the problem really the size of the provinces?
Or is the problem the way we govern them?

This is not a question directed against any single political party, institution or individual. It is a question for the entire system.
If transparency cannot be established in the existing provinces, how will it be established in new ones?
If merit-based appointments cannot be ensured in the existing provinces, what magic will suddenly make merit possible in the new provinces?
If misuse of resources cannot be controlled today, who will guarantee that resources will not be wasted in new administrative units?
And if accountability is ineffective today, who will make it effective in the new provinces?
There is also the larger question of electoral transparency and public confidence.

At a time when Form 45 and Form 47 continue to be subjects of intense public and political discussion, and questions continue to be raised about the transparency of electoral outcomes, we must ask ourselves: what exactly will we achieve by merely redrawing the administrative map?

If citizens do not have confidence in the transparency of their vote, will creating as many new provinces as we wish restore their confidence in the system of governance?
If a citizen is not confident that his vote has been counted in the manner in which he cast it, how will a new province remove his fundamental sense of deprivation and distrust?
This is why we must establish our priorities.

New provinces may have their own justification, but before that we must ensure transparent elections, strong institutions, effective accountability, merit, rule of law and good governance.
Democracy is not merely about increasing the number of provinces; democracy is about public trust.

And governance is not merely about creating new secretariats; governance is demonstrated when an ordinary citizen believes that the state will treat him fairly.

If new provinces genuinely bring government closer to the people, ensure a fairer distribution of resources, improve administrative access and promote balanced development, then they deserve serious consideration. But they should not be presented as the universal solution to Pakistan’s governance problems.

Pakistan does not merely need new provinces. It needs a new culture of governance.
Drawing new boundaries on a map is comparatively easy. The real test is to establish, within those boundaries, a system based on merit, justice, transparency, accountability and competent people in the right positions
How many provinces Pakistan has is a secondary question.

The first question is: how well is Pakistan governed?
If the same system, the same political culture and the same style of governance cannot solve our problems in four provinces, what fundamentally different result will ten or twelve provinces produce?
Change the system before changing the map.
Build good governance before building new provinces.

Dr Alamdar Hussain Malik
Advisor Academics, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Swat.
Former Financial Adviser, Finance Division, Government of Pakistan