LOOKING at the developed and the developing countries, we find ourselves as a unique example of a federation with almost no parallel anywhere in the world. Our present provincial setup has long been the cause of political instability.

It has not only been fuelling misrule and corruption in the country, but has also been aggravating the sense of inequality and exasperation among the federating units. We are perhaps the only country with provinces based on ethnicity and language.

Also, no country roughly equal to Pakistan’s geographical and population size has so few and such large provinces. In any unequal setup no method of governance can be effective.

The smaller provinces resent what they see as continued dominance of the larger units. The Constitution does not provide a solution to the genuine concerns of inequality in terms of size and the share of the economic pie.

Most of the large and medium-size countries are divided into several provinces or states as administrative units. For example, the United States has 50 states, China has 31 provinces, India has 28 states and eight union territories, Germany has 16, Switzerland has 26 cantons, and the United Kingdom has 48 counties.

By dividing our provinces into smaller administrative units, we would not only be eliminating the cause of acrimony among the smaller provinces, but would also be ensuring effective and efficient governance through elected bodies at local and grassroots level. It is time to have smaller administrative units carved out of present large provinces for better administration and services to the masses.

Syed Muhammad Irtiza
Jamshoro

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2022