ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Mian Amer Mahmood, the chairman of Dunya Media Group, has said Pakistan must re-examine its provincial structure if it hopes to overcome the governance challenges projected for 2030.
Speaking at Imagine Pakistan 2030: Challenges and Facilities int he federal capital today, he argued that countries worldwide have repeatedly adjusted administrative units as populations grew, treating such changes as practical steps rather than political taboos. He noted that nowhere else have administrative boundaries been elevated to matters of identity or sacred value in a way that blocks reform.
Mian Amer Mahmood said his research team travelled across Karachi, Peshawar, Abbottabad and beyond, gathering public sentiment on provincial performance. While emotions vary by region, he stressed that data leaves little room for debate. From education and health to policing, infrastructure and justice, Pakistan’s provincial governments consistently rank in the bottom ten percent of global performance indices, he said, adding that this gap reflects a failure to deliver essential services.
GLOBAL EXAMPLES
Citing the World Bank’s report Pakistan at 100, Mahmood highlighted structural inequalities in development as the foremost obstacle to national progress. In 79 years, Pakistan has developed only five provincial capitals: one federal and four provincial. He noted that no province has created a strong secondary or tertiary capital city, using Faisalabad as an example of a major urban centre still dependent on Lahore for basic administrative needs.
Mahmood contrasted Pakistan’s provincial structure with other large countries. India currently has 39 states with an average population of around 36 million. China has 31 provincial-level units. The United States has 50 states, and Indonesia, with a population of 275 million, operates through 34 administrative units. By comparison, Pakistan, with a population of roughly 240 to 250 million, continues to rely on just five provinces.
He added that current provincial proportions are highly imbalanced: Punjab holds 52 percent of Pakistan’s population, while Balochistan covers half the country’s land area yet has a population of around 14 million. Such unevenness, he argued, hampers service delivery, allows governance gaps to persist, and creates distances that central authorities cannot effectively manage.
Mian Amer Mahmood calls for new provincial map to fix governance gaps
He rejected claims that Pakistan’s existing provinces are centuries-old entities, calling them a recent phenomenon shaped by shifting boundaries. He noted that pre-Partition Punjab did not include present-day territories such as Bahawalpur, once a separate state. Even Peshawar was historically part of Punjab at certain points. He argued that closer, smaller provinces would be more capable of delivering services than large territories managed from remote capitals.
ADMINISTRATIVE EFFICIENCY
According to Mian Amer Mahmood, the scale of current provincial systems makes effective governance impossible. Punjab alone operates around 60,000 public schools, while Sindh manages approximately 40,000. He referenced a 1998 incident when the Punjab government called in the army simply to count school buildings, saying that a department unable to count its schools could not efficiently run them.
He said the Punjab government spends about Rs4,400 per child per month in public schools and around Rs6 million per bed annually in government hospitals. While these allocations are significant, service delivery remains weak, suggesting that the administrative structure itself is the barrier.
Mian Amer Mahmood proposed converting existing administrative divisions into provinces because their boundaries are already settled, reducing political conflict. He argued that administrative costs would not increase, asserting that division commissioners could assume roles such as chief secretaries, and regional police officers could serve as provincial inspectors general, while most governance interaction for citizens already occurs at district and divisional level.
PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL CONSENSUS
Responding to questions on political resistance, Mahmood acknowledged that many parties have included new provinces in their manifestos but rarely act on the pledge once in power. He said only strong public opinion can push political actors towards meaningful reform. He noted examples like the unanimous passage of a resolution for a Hazara province in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, though other regions, such as southern Punjab, lack consensus; Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Bahawalpur each express different preferences for provincial status.
He added that movements for new provinces also exist in areas such as Potohar, but these remain limited in size. Mahmood emphasised that youth engagement is crucial, as young people make up 64 percent of Pakistan’s population. Through universities and media platforms, he aims to encourage informed debate that may eventually shape national consensus on administrative reform.