Fazlur Rehman Questions New Provinces Push, Says Pakistan Lacks Preparation
SUKKUR, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has questioned renewed proposals to create additional provinces and administrative units in Pakistan, arguing that the country lacks the political and institutional preparation required for such a major restructuring.
Addressing a meeting of the JUI-F Sindh General Council in Sukkur, Fazlur Rehman said discussions about creating provinces had begun, but questioned whether adequate groundwork had been carried out before raising such a sensitive issue.
He singled out Sindh, saying the province did not appear prepared for the proposed restructuring.
His remarks come as the debate over new provinces has intensified across Pakistan, with political parties taking sharply different positions on whether smaller administrative units could improve governance or instead deepen political and regional divisions.
Fazl Questions Groundwork for New Provinces
Fazlur Rehman’s central argument was not simply about the number of provinces Pakistan should have, but whether the country has developed the necessary political consensus and administrative framework for such a change.
He questioned why proposals for new provinces were being advanced without first establishing whether provinces themselves, particularly Sindh, were prepared for the consequences.
The JUI-F chief has made similar arguments in recent days.
At a joint opposition meeting last week, he said the current political environment was unsuitable for dividing provinces and warned that there had been no adequate prior preparation for such a move.
The joint opposition position was that provincial restructuring under current circumstances could increase mistrust among Pakistan’s federating units.
JUI-F Opposes Provincial Division Under Current Conditions
Fazlur Rehman has increasingly positioned JUI-F against the current push for additional provinces.
Speaking at a party convention in Peshawar earlier this month, he argued that discussing provincial divisions while Pakistan faced serious security and political challenges was unwise. He also alleged that the new-provinces debate could be linked to attempts to weaken the National Finance Commission Award and gain greater control over provincial mineral resources.
Those assertions regarding the NFC Award and mineral resources are Fazlur Rehman’s political allegations; they have not been established as the government’s stated purpose for considering administrative restructuring.
The government has also not publicly unveiled a final map, number of proposed provinces or comprehensive constitutional package establishing new provincial boundaries.
Debate Reaches Pakistan’s Political Mainstream
The controversy has accelerated since reports emerged that the creation of additional administrative units was under discussion in government circles.
A senior government functionary told Dawn earlier in August that policymakers were considering several options, including creating additional provinces, establishing other administrative units or strengthening the local-government system. The discussions were described at the time as being at an initial stage.
The official also acknowledged that securing consensus among major political parties would be difficult.
That is an important distinction: discussion of new provinces does not mean the federal government has formally approved their creation.
Nor has a final constitutional amendment creating specific provinces been presented solely on the basis of the political discussions reported so far.
Sindh Becomes Centre of Political Resistance
Sindh has emerged as one of the main centres of opposition to the idea.
Political activists, lawyers and civil society representatives participated in a “Wahdat-i-Sindh” march in Karachi on Sunday, opposing proposals they believe could divide the province or establish new administrative units within it.
The Pakistan Peoples Party has also taken a strong position against altering Sindh’s territorial structure.
The issue is now heading for debate in the Sindh Assembly, where PPP leaders have indicated they will oppose proposals for new provinces or administrative units affecting Sindh.
The resistance demonstrates the political difficulty of translating a national debate about administrative efficiency into actual changes to provincial boundaries.
Fazl Says Pakistan Cannot Be Governed Through Coercion
Fazlur Rehman’s Sukkur address extended beyond the provincial debate.
He said Pakistan should be governed according to its Constitution and the genuine will of its citizens rather than through force or coercion. He described disagreement as a democratic right and stressed the constitutional importance of parliament.
He argued that Pakistan was facing serious political, economic and law-and-order challenges and called for a reassessment of national policies.
Fazl also criticised what he described as a political system dominated by recurring transfers of power between the Sharif and Zardari political camps. Express quoted him as saying governance had effectively moved “from Nawaz Sharif to Zardari and from Zardari to Nawaz Sharif.”
That statement represents his political assessment rather than a factual description of Pakistan’s entire constitutional power structure.
‘Country Belongs to Everyone’
The JUI-F chief also accused the government of attempting to weaken citizens’ ability to question those in power.
He argued that Pakistan belonged equally to all its citizens and said people should not require any certificate or permission to demonstrate their patriotism.
In a separate account of the Sukkur speech, Fazl said parliament was the country’s supreme constitutional institution and argued that constitutional changes should reflect a genuine public mandate.
He called for realistic debate over Pakistan’s economic, political and foreign policies rather than decisions driven by slogans or short-term political calculations.
New Provinces Require More Than Political Agreement
Creating a new province in Pakistan is not something that can be accomplished through an ordinary government announcement.
Where a constitutional amendment would alter the limits of an existing province, Article 239(4) of Pakistan’s Constitution requires approval by not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the affected provincial assembly before the amendment can be presented to the president for assent.
The federal constitutional amendment process would also have to be completed.
This makes opposition from a major provincial party particularly important when a proposal involves changing the boundaries of a province where that party commands substantial legislative strength.
Administrative reforms that do not alter provincial boundaries, however, can raise different constitutional and legal questions depending on their structure.
JUI-F Recalls Opposition to FATA Merger
Fazlur Rehman has also linked the current debate with JUI-F’s longstanding opposition to the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas’ merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier this month, he again described that merger as a mistake and noted that reversing it would require a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
The comparison reflects JUI-F’s broader argument that major territorial and administrative restructuring should not be pursued without extensive consultation and preparation.
It does not, however, establish that the current proposals would follow the same model as the former FATA-KP merger.
Political Battle Over Provinces Deepens
Fazlur Rehman’s intervention adds another influential opposition voice against rapid provincial restructuring.
His position broadly aligns with the joint opposition’s recent warning that the present political and economic environment is unsuitable for dividing provinces.
At the same time, supporters of creating additional provinces argue that Pakistan’s growing population and governance challenges require smaller and more manageable administrative structures.
The disagreement therefore involves two separate questions: whether Pakistan could benefit from administrative decentralisation, and whether creating new provinces is the appropriate mechanism for achieving it.
For now, no final nationwide restructuring plan has been publicly approved.
The most publication-safe description is that new provinces and administrative units are under active political discussion, while Fazlur Rehman and other opposition figures argue that there is insufficient preparation, consensus and political stability to proceed with such a major constitutional change.
