When Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal proposed dividing Pakistan into 12 to 15 smaller administrative units—or, alternatively, setting up 160 empowered district governments—he reignited a vital debate on how power should actually work across the federation. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi similarly pointed out that our current administrative setup is failing to deliver for ordinary citizens. On the other hand, constitutional purists like Senator Raza Rabbani rightly caution against straying from the Constitution. Yet, amid these differing views, one crucial question stands out above the rest: Does Pakistan need a sweeping re-mapping of its federating units, or does it simply need to hold its provincial capitals accountable for the authority they have hoarded?

Passing the 18th Amendment in 2010 was widely celebrated as a milestone for Pakistani democracy. By handing major responsibilities down from the federal center directly to the........

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