The idea of creating more provinces or administrative units has once again surfaced in Pakistan's policy and political discourse. Its proponents argue that smaller provinces and new administrative divisions would bring governance closer to the people, accelerate development and reduce bureaucratic centralization. Recently, a think tank based in Islamabad also organised a seminar to deliberate on the creation of new provinces, reviving a debate that resurfaces periodically whenever governance failures deepen or regional grievances intensify.

However, this notion of "more provinces as a panacea" requires a careful constitutional, administrative and historical review. Pakistan has experimented with multiple governance models since independence - and most have failed to yield stability or equitable development.

In his book Constitutional Development in Pakistan, GW Chaudhary described Pakistan as a "laboratory" of constitutional experiments - a metaphor that remains strikingly relevant even today. The country has witnessed repeated suspensions, abrogations and disruptions of its Constitution, each episode shaking the foundations of the federation and weakening institutional coherence.

Pakistan has already experimented with administrative units under parity, and later under President Ayub Khan, when the country was reorganised into two provinces - East and West Pakistan - each headed by a Governor. Local governments, under the concept of Basic Democracies, were created and turned into electoral colleges for the indirect election of the President.

The experiment did not work. Instead of strengthening........

© The Express Tribune