Beyond New Provinces: A Low-Cost Governance Roadmap for Pakistan.
Beyond New Provinces: A Low-Cost Governance Roadmap for Pakistan Rethinking the Debate on New Provinces Pakistan is once again engaged in a serious debate over the creation of new provinces. The argument is understandable. Large provinces face problems of administrative distance, uneven development, concentration of power, and limited access to government services for citizens living far from provincial capitals. However, the question we should ask is not simply: “How many provinces should Pakistan have?” The more important question is: “How can government be brought closer to the people without creating unnecessary political and administrative costs?” Creating a new province may address geographical and administrative concerns, but it also requires additional political and institutional structures—such as a separate provincial assembly, chief minister, governor, secretariat, departments and senior administrative machinery. Pakistan should therefore consider an alternative ap...