Khawaja Asif questions PPP stance on new provinces as devolution debate unfolds

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has taken the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to task on its ‘double standards’ on the creation of new provinces and administrative divisions.

“The PPP seems to support the demand for a separate Saraiki province in Punjab but whenever there is a broader restructuring of the country’s administrative setup it raises the issue of Sindhudesh,” Asif stated in a post on X.

He questioned the logic of the inconsistent posture of the party, stating he suspected there was “something else” behind it. The minister said he would raise his concerns at the proper moment.

At the same time, Asif emphasized that national identity should be supreme, saying, “We are Pakistanis, first and last.”

The defense minister also urged for the efficient execution of the devolution proposed under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

“The amendment has laid down the principle of devolution of powers, but powers are still concentrated at the higher levels and the system has not been implemented in the real spirit,” he said.

Asif said, “We need more devolution so that democracy at the grassroots level is strengthened and people can directly benefit from government institutions and services.

He said the present 36 divisions in Pakistan might be the basis for re-organising the administrative structure, but another geographical model could also be considered.

In the end, Asif contended, the delegation of power to lower levels of administration was inevitable.

His comments come amid increasing clamor for changes to Pakistan’s provincial and administrative structure.

The issue gained steam in July when Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi criticized the country’s present governance system and advocated for significant administrative reforms. He also pushed for the division of the provinces into smaller administrative units for better control and to speed up growth.

The PPP was against pushing the topic forward, stating no clear proposal for administrative restructuring was brought before the party.

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has subsequently called for a national debate on the topic, and advocated the creation of 12 to 15 provinces.

Iqbal proposed that the law minister form a committee on administrative reforms to investigate prospective improvements and to start political and national engagements. Any attempt to create new provinces would need wide political consensus, he said.

The planning minister has also said that the existing provinces have grown too centralized despite the devolution process under the 18th amendment.

He said it was difficult to rule vast provinces efficiently from their provincial headquarters and suggested setting up about 160 empowered district administrations across the country.

Iqbal warned that if substantial powers are not passed down to districts and local administrations, there could be a rise in demands for additional provinces.

The argument has therefore moved to two alternative solutions, either to increase the number of provinces by redrawing the current boundaries or to enhance local governments by a larger devolution of administrative and political authorities.

Asif’s new comments have done little to help the debate, with the defense minister challenging the PPP’s stance while asking for a wider transfer of authority to lower levels of government.