ISLAMABAD: Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) President and Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan on Saturday voiced strong support for the creation of new provinces across the country, saying the move is necessary to address public grievances and improve governance.
In a statement, Aleem Khan said demands for administrative restructuring have been growing for years, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where calls for a separate Hazara province have persisted since 2010. He noted that major political parties in the province back the proposal.
“The IPP stands with the demand for the Hazara province,” Aleem Khan said.
He also endorsed the establishment of South Punjab and Bahawalpur as separate provinces, adding that similar movements are emerging in Punjab and Sindh. He argued that dividing each of the country’s four provinces into four administrative units would be a positive step and that the current situation demands a new working order.
Aleem Khan urged political leaders to embrace the issue rather than protect their regional influence. “Instead of protecting their dominance, they will have to think about the problems of the people,” he said. He described the matter as a national issue that should not be sacrificed for political expediency and pledged that his party would continue to advocate for new provinces at every forum.
The debate was reignited last week when Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said at a public event that Pakistan’s governance system had “collapsed” and was no longer capable of meeting the country’s challenges. He called for administrative reforms, including the creation of new administrative units.
Naqvi later clarified that his remarks were not a charge sheet against the government, noting that he is part of the administration and would not indict it. However, he stood by his assertion that the system had been “completely destroyed,” explaining that he was referring to its deterioration over the past 80 years.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan also backed the proposal, saying new provinces are necessary but must be established through broad political consensus and a two-thirds majority in the relevant assemblies.
Gohar Khan said, “The system we are living under has collapsed. Problems cannot be solved through it.” He warned that without fundamental reforms, the country would face the same challenges over the next decade.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has outright rejected the idea. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah told journalists that the Constitution already outlines a procedure for creating new provinces, requiring a two-thirds majority resolution from the relevant provincial assembly. He said the Sindh Assembly has repeatedly and unanimously passed resolutions opposing any division of the province.
“If there is ever a change in this position, which does not appear likely, then the matter can be discussed,” Shah said.
