Pakistan needs effective and responsive governance to address the socio-economic and socio-political challenges confronting its people. At its core, good governance means ensuring the effective delivery of public services, administration, and development opportunities to citizens at the grassroots level and, as far as possible, at their doorsteps. This requires not only efficient institutions but also an administrative structure capable of responding to the diverse needs of different regions.Pakistan currently consists of four provinces, in addition to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. The large geographical size and population of some provinces have created significant challenges in administration, political representation, service delivery, and equitable development. These challenges have persisted for decades. The experience of local government systems has also been uneven, partly because of political considerations, institutional weaknesses, and the distribution of powers and resources between the federal and provincial governments.

In this context, Pakistan needs to seriously consider the creation of smaller provinces and additional administrative units within its existing constitutional and federal framework. The objective should not be the division of the country for political expediency, but the establishment of appropriately sized administrative and political units that can provide better governance, stronger representation, and more balanced socio-economic development.The creation of new provinces, however, should not be viewed........

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