PAKISTAN’S crisis is not just economic or political, it is structural.
The obsession with clinging to oversized provinces has created a stranglehold that stifles development, fuels resentment and blocks genuine representation. While power brokers in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar enjoy the spoils, the entire regions remain sidelined, breeding anger and disillusionment. The country cannot survive much longer under this monopoly of big provinces.
The grievances of South Punjab, Hazara and the tribal belt are not just local cries, they are national alarms. For years, the people of South Punjab have demanded their own province, only to be mocked with empty promises. Billboards and manifestos come alive during elections, yet once the ballots are counted, the voices fade into dust. The neglect of South Punjab is visible in every closed hospital ward, every crumbling road, every broken promise of clean water. This is not representation, it is exploitation.
Hazara’s story is no different. The demand for a separate province is rooted in years of neglect and cultural disregard by the provincial capital. Hazara’s martyrs have already shed blood for recognition, yet their call remains unanswered. Their loyalty to the federation is unwavering, but loyalty should not mean silence in the face of injustice. Denying Hazara its rightful place is pushing its people into the margins and marginalization is a dangerous recipe for disunity.
Then there is the story of FATA, which was merged into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with much fanfare but little preparation. Instead of bringing prosperity, the merger has burdened the tribal people with bureaucratic red tape, stalled projects and broken commitments. They were promised integration and opportunity, what they got was confusion and further alienation. Their sacrifices in the war against terror were enormous, but their reward has been empty assurances. This betrayal deepens the fault lines in our federation.
The demand for new provinces is not about division, it is about survival. A country of 250 million cannot be run by clinging to outdated boundaries carved in another era. Big provinces hoard resources, dominate politics and silence smaller voices. The result is imbalance, mistrust and a sense of exclusion that weakens the state. Pakistan needs a structural reset and that reset begins with the courage to create new provinces.
Critics argue that more provinces will fuel division, but the opposite is true. Smaller provinces mean greater inclusion, fairer resource distribution and stronger loyalty to the federation. Bahawalpur, Hazara and the tribal areas need their own identity within Pakistan, not as a favour but as a right. This is how real unity is built, not by suppressing voices but by amplifying them.
History is already filled with warnings. East Pakistan’s tragic separation was not only the result of political missteps but also of structural imbalance, where one region monopolized resources and political power while the other was reduced to a colony. If Pakistan fails to learn from that wound, then the repetition of mistakes will not just be unfortunate, it will be fatal. Ignoring South Punjab, Hazara and FATA is not a small administrative lapse, it is the replay of an old arrogance that once broke the country.
—The writer is former Regional Executive Inclusive Development at NBP, Mirpur AK.
