“Demand for new Provinces is not New”

 In recent days, you have witnessed the news about the formation of new provinces, but it’s not the first time. It is true that Pakistan’s Administrative Structure need changes with time, due to an increasing population. Large provincial areas also seem to contribute to poor administration, political imbalance, and even ethnic tensions, because of which mistrust breeds between small provinces and the federation. To enhance good governance, a number of countries have established new provinces or states across the world. To illustrate, India has 28 states and 8 union territories today, but in the year 1947, at the time of partition, there were only 8 provinces. In Pakistan demand for new provinces is not new, in fact, almost all the parties had raised this issue before elections in order to increase their decreasing popularity or for political point scoring to get votes from these areas.

Requirements to create new Provinces:

The Constitution of Pakistan 1973, allows the creation of new provinces under Article 239, Section 4 of the Constitution. This amendment requires:

·        1. A two thirds majority of the convening provincial assembly.

·        2. Two-thirds majority in each house of Parliament.

It is a very tough process and therefore mostly politically based parties raise the question on popularity basis to the electorate, in particular during elections, rather than working in a serious manner to achieve the goal.

Let’s do a quick History recap:

• 1.       Bahawalpur & South Punjab Province:

In the 1970s, after the abolition of one unit, people of Bahawalpur demanded the restoration of their former state as a separate province. Later, the demand expanded into a call for a South Punjab province, mainly due to feelings of neglect in development compared to Lahore and central Punjab. Political parties like PML-N, PPP, and PTI have all promised a South Punjab province, especially before elections, but none has completed the constitutional process.

When one unit was abolished in the 1970s people of Bahawalpur demanded the reinstatement of their former state as an independent province. This was later extended into a request of a province of South Punjab, mostly based on perceived under-development to that in Lahore and central Punjab. All major political parties such as PML-N, PPP, PTI, etc have provided the promise of the formation of South Punjab province before or during elections, but the process of doing so constitutionally has not been followed through by both the parties involved.

During 2011–2012, PPP leadership (Yousaf Raza Gillani & Asif Zardari) strongly raised the issue. In May 2012, PPP moved a resolution in the National Assembly for South Punjab & Bahawalpur provinces just before disqualification. A Parliamentary Commission on New Provinces was formed in 2013, but it ended with no practical result before elections.

In 2012–2013 (Opposition time), PML-N supported the demand in the Punjab Assembly to counter PPP’s move. During the 2013 Election Campaign, PML-N promised to make a new province, but after coming into power (2013–2018), it went silent. In 2018 (just before elections), Shahbaz Sharif announced support for a separate South Punjab province, mainly to attract Saraiki voters.

During the 2018 Election Campaign, Imran Khan promised to create a South Punjab province within 100 days of coming into power. In 2019–2020 (Government time), PTI formed a committee and even moved a constitutional amendment bill in Jan 2020, but it stalled due to a lack of consensus. In 2022 (before vote of no-confidence), PTI government approved the bill for South Punjab province in the National Assembly, but it could not be passed by the Senate.

So in reality, every major party talks about South Punjab before elections (2012, 2013, 2018, 2022) but none has delivered because they lack either the political will or the two-thirds majority needed.

• 2.      Karachi Province:

Occasionally, voices (especially from MQM) demanded a separate Karachi province, citing poor governance by Sindh government. Sindhi nationalist parties strongly oppose this, saying it would divide Sindh. This demand usually comes up near elections or during conflicts between MQM and PPP.

• 3.      Hazara Province (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)

After NWFP was renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2010, many in the Hazara division protested and demanded a separate Hazara province. Different political groups (notably Hazara Tehreek, sometimes supported by PML-Q or PTI members) revive this demand during political campaigns.

• 4.      FATA as a Separate Province (before merger)

Some political circles suggested making FATA a separate province instead of merging it with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The issue was widely discussed in 2017-2018 but later the merger into KP was done, closing that chapter.

5.      Other Occasional Demands

Saraiki province (similar to South Punjab demand, but broader cultural identity).

Potohar province (Rawalpindi region, raised occasionally). These are mostly regional voices amplified during political campaigning.

Here, you see a clear pattern: every party uses the demand for new provinces when chaos comes. Parties raise the slogan in areas where people feel ignored (e.g., South Punjab) to win votes. After elections, the issue goes silent because passing constitutional amendments is hard and would upset other provinces.