Only smaller administrative units can fix Pakistan's governance issues: Mian Amer Mahmood
Pakistan
He noted that many countries have established administrative units based on their needs.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Chairman of Dunya Media Group, Mian Amer Mahmood said on Friday that Pakistan’s fundamental issue is governance, and governance can only improve by creating smaller administrative units.
Speaking to leading media personalities during the nationwide awareness campaign by APSUP titled “Pakistan 2030: Challenges, Opportunities and New Pathways,” he said the proposal for smaller provinces is not new and has long been discussed.
He noted that many countries have established administrative units based on their needs. Pakistan, too, once formed the “One Unit” system to meet its requirements. At the time of independence, provincial populations were much smaller, but today one province has grown larger than the other three provinces combined — a situation not seen elsewhere in the world.
Read more: Large provinces an obstacle to development: Mian Amer Mahmood
He added that one province has an overwhelming population while another, Balochistan, has a vast geographical area, making it difficult to maintain law and order due to its sheer size.
Mian Amer Mahmood said that it is the responsibility of each province to maintain its own police force and ensure rule of law. He stressed that instead of improving governance across the four provinces, the situation has deteriorated over time. Pakistan’s core problem, he reiterated, is governance — and better governance is only possible through smaller administrative units.
Mian Amer Mahmood said that Faisalabad is Pakistan’s third-largest city, yet it does not have a good hospital, university, school, or college. People from Faisalabad have to travel to Lahore for every major need. He added, “Yesterday we were in Gujranwala, which is Pakistan’s industrial hub. We refer to Gujranwala, Sialkot, and Wazirabad together as the Golden Triangle.”
He further said that most of Pakistan’s exports come from this Golden Triangle region, and the issues faced there are very different from those in Balochistan. “When the people of this region have their own local government, they will be able to address their local problems more effectively,” he stated.
He added that according to a World Bank report, a major obstacle to Pakistan’s progress is uneven and unbalanced competitive development. “We keep developing the same five cities while the rest of the country is neglected,” he said.
