LAHORE: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman warned against imposing decisions regarding the creation of new provinces without broad debate, accusing successive government policies of leaving Pakistan politically and economically weakened.
Addressing a Khatm-e-Nabuwwat conference at the Wahdat Road Cricket Ground in Lahore, the cleric stressed that while his party is not opposed to creating new administrative units in principle, such decisions must account for prevailing conditions and political consensus.
“We are not against provinces, but the time and circumstances must also be considered,” Fazl said. “Do not impose any decision unilaterally; there should be a debate on it.”
Fazl highlighted that under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, provinces maintain control over their mineral resources, making open discussions among political parties essential. He criticized major political rivals for their handling of the issue, stating that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) framed the discussion solely around Sindh while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) remained silent.
Turning to economic matters, the JUI-F leader sharply criticized Pakistan’s heavy reliance on foreign loans from institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Colonialism has ended, but international institutions decide for our country today,” Fazl said. “If they determine our economic policies, then this is another form of colonialism.”
He asserted that the state could only be strong if its citizens were secure and respected, warning that deep-seated political, social, and ethnic divisions had prevented the country from forging a unified national identity.
“The politics of the elite and oppressive politics will not work,” Fazl said, adding that his party would also resist any movements aimed at repealing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
Fazl’s remarks arrive amid a renewed national debate over whether Pakistan requires additional provinces or greater decentralization through localized administrative units.
The debate re-emerged after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi declared that the country's governance system had "collapsed" over the past eight decades and called for fundamental reforms. Naqvi suggested dividing provinces on administrative grounds to streamline governance and accelerate development.
The proposal drew immediate opposition from the PPP, which noted that no concrete plan for restructuring had been formally presented.
However, the discussion expanded further when Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal called for a national consensus on creating 12 to 15 new provinces or empowering roughly 160 district governments. Iqbal argued that provincial authorities have become overly centralized in capital cities like Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta, undermining the original spirit of devolution.
As the debate continues, political leaders remain divided between two competing approaches: physically redrawing Pakistan’s provincial borders or devolving greater administrative power directly to local district governments.
