With massive floods posing a serious threat to the economy, prompting forecasts of GDP growth falling during FY26 and amidst a debate on whether new provinces should be created or local bodies should be democratically empowered, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has stressed the need for a robust third tier of government.

Addressing the Senate on Sept 1, he said, “A comprehensive and robust local government system is needed to serve the masses in the cities, villages and tehsils.” He regretted that presently there were no elected local body institutions in Punjab and other parts of the country.

Until political parties are compelled to hold regular local elections, devolve real financial powers and respect the people’s mandate, governance will remain broken, says public policy analyst Durdana Najam.

In an article titled ‘Pakistan doesn’t need provinces, it needs its Constitution’ published by The Express Tribune, Ms Najam stresses, “We need to honour the map already drawn by our Constitution. That is where resilience begins.”

Describing the recent devastation caused by floods as ‘a man-made disaster’, the defence minister also suggested building hundreds of small dams and reservoirs, instead of waiting for decades to build mega projects, warning that water would become an extremely scarce commodity in the future.

Despite being battered by major floods every three to four years, Pakistan still lacks........

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