THE basic structure of our Constitution is parliamentary. There is a talk of introducing presidential form of government through a referendum, as the basic constitutional structure cannot be changed through an amendment.

What we need today are not electoral reforms, but constitutional reforms. And in doing so, we should not limit the debate to just the form of governance. Other than the form and tenure, we should target having an upper house elected through adult franchise while abolishing all the reserved seats.

Besides, the most critical part is that the country needs smaller provinces. Even our ‘smaller’ provinces are too big to be properly administered as these are much bigger than what most countries have.

If a study is carried out about the number of provinces in other countries, it will become evident that we should also go for smaller provinces. It is strongly recommended that each civil division should be made a province, which will give the country about 27 provinces.

Afghanistan has 34 provinces, and Iran has 31. Why cannot Pakistan increase the number of its provinces? A relevant study will also bring home the necessity to increase the number of provinces in Pakistan.

Nigeria is a good example for us. Like Pakistan, Nigeria also had four big provinces. The Nigerians learnt their lesson after the rebellion in Biafra, and they increased the number of provinces from four to 19. On the other hand, we, even after losing East Pakistan, have not learnt the lesson, and have not opted for smaller provinces. It is time we gave serious thought to our problems before it gets too late.

Lt-Col (retd) Syed Iftikhar Ahmed
Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2022