SIALKOT: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that establishing new administrative units in Pakistan has become an important necessity in view of the country’s growing population and increasing public needs.
Speaking to a private television channel in Sialkot, the defence minister said that the creation of new provinces and administrative units had been the subject of extensive debate across the country over the past two months.
He said that several countries around the world had introduced similar administrative reforms to improve governance. Therefore, the proposal to increase the number of provinces in Pakistan from four to 12 could be seriously considered, provided that the decision was based purely on administrative requirements rather than linguistic, ethnic or political considerations.
Giving the example of Afghanistan, Khawaja Asif said that the country had previously been divided into eight to 10 provinces, but the number had since increased to more than 30.
He stressed that administrative and political powers should not remain concentrated in provincial capitals such as Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar. Instead, authority should be transferred to administrative units at the grassroots level.
The defence minister also expressed concern that development funds released by the federal government often remained at the discretion of provincial governments, whereas local government institutions should be the primary recipients of such resources.
He lamented that local government bodies in Pakistan remained dependent on provincial governments, limiting their ability to address public needs independently.
Commenting on the attitude of the country’s political leadership, Khawaja Asif said politicians needed to recognise that power and authority were entrusted to them by the people. However, he regretted that political leaders continued to seek control over decision-making powers rather than devolving authority to lower levels.
