Colombo, Oct 12 (IANS) Pakistan’s creation of new provinces without addressing the entrenched structures of corruption, patronage, feudal dominance and institutional decay would merely alter geographical boundaries while allowing the same dysfunctional system to persist, a report has stated.
It noted that the key question remains whether such a move can dismantle the system that has turned Sindh, one of Pakistan’s wealthiest provinces, into a region of untapped potential.
Without fundamental changes to this system, new provincial boundaries are likely to yield the same outcomes, leaving Sindh’s people to bear the consequences of a political order that has spent decades distributing privileges instead of delivering progress, according to a report in the Sri Lankan newspaper ‘Daily Mirror’.
“Proposals emanating from Islamabad for the creation of new provinces and administrative units have reignited long-standing anxieties about federal encroachment, resource control, and the political future of Pakistan's most economically significant yet politically embattled province, Sindh,” the report noted.
Stressing that the push is being driven by influential figures within Pakistan’s federal government, it said, “Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has argued that Pakistan's traditional four-province structure is ill-suited to govern a country of more than 250 million people. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has gone even further, suggesting the creation of 12 to 15 administrative units across the country.”
Among the most contentious proposals under discussion, the report said, is the possibility of separating Karachi from Sindh and placing it under direct federal control
“Any discussion about new provinces in Pakistan cannot be divorced from the realities of Sindh itself. The fundamental question is not whether Sindh is too large to govern, but why decades of governance have failed to translate the province's wealth into prosperity for its people,” Daily Mirror mentioned.
According to the report, Sindh presents one of South Asia’s most striking paradoxes.
Despite being home to Pakistan’s largest city, its main ports, extensive agricultural lands, significant energy reserves, and a major share of the country’s industrial and commercial activity, large parts of the province continue to grapple with poor educational standards, inadequate healthcare, deficient infrastructure, persistent poverty, and limited economic opportunities, the report noted.
“Gas extracted from Sindh fuels industries and households across the country, while many producing areas remain deprived of development. Water disputes, centralised fiscal arrangements, and unequal control over provincial resources have reinforced perceptions that wealth generated in Sindh is routinely diverted elsewhere. These grievances are further shaped by historical experiences following Partition, including linguistic marginalisation, the weakening of Sindhi-medium education, and the diminishing role of Sindhi speakers within state institutions,” it highlighted.
--IANS
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