Islamabad, September 10,2026: Leaders of Pakistan’s major political parties, including the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), voiced support and demanded for the creation of new provinces while urging the government to initiate practical steps in this regard.
“The status quo is not an option. Creating new provinces is a need of the hour for Pakistan. The provincial assemblies have already passed unanimous resolutions, yet you are sitting on them and preventing progress,” Former federal minister and head of the Bahawalpur Province Restoration Movement Muhammad Ali Durrani said while addressing a national dialogue on provinces and administrative units organized by the Hazara Journalists Association at the National Press Club in Islamabad.
He said the demand for new provinces was in Pakistan’s national interest and warned that leaders who tried to block creation of provinces, would not have the support of their own parliamentarians.
“If new provinces are not created, there will be anarchy in the country,” Durrani warned.
He said once a resolution was passed, it could not simply cease to exist. “Tomorrow, the world could say that the Kashmir resolution has also ceased to exist. If a resolution regarding provinces is to be withdrawn, another resolution must be passed against it,” he said.
Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf said that the demand for new provinces was growing rapidly across the country.
“Smaller units and new provinces are an urgent need. They should have been created years ago. The issue has been raised in the assemblies from time to time, and several resolutions have already been passed. Now, it should be discussed formally and debated comprehensively,” he said.
He called for the creation of smaller administrative units with adequate powers, saying that devolving authority would make it easier to provide services to the people.
“All parties agree that Hazara should be made a province. Whether we are in government or not, we have continued this movement. We hope that more provinces will be created. We are not asking for a separate country,” he said.
Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence Senator Talha Mahmood said he had continued to raise his voice for the creation of Hazara province and had first raised the issue in the Senate in 2010.
“We have been demanding Hazara province for a long time. If Rs400 billion is allocated under the NFC Award, is even Rs100 billion reaching the districts and tehsils?” he asked.
He also called for Chitral to be made part of a separate province rather than remaining within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying that the entire Malakand region should be made a province.
PTI MNA Shehzada Gushtasp Khan said every movement should have a clear objective, adding that the demand for new provinces was an administrative matter aimed at improving governance.
“The smaller the administrative unit, the better it can be governed. This demand is not based on hatred. The smaller the unit, the better it can be managed,” he said.
Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party leader and Parliamentary Secretary for Communications Gul Asghar Khan said his party had held extensive discussions on the issue and believed that new provinces should have been created much earlier.
“There should be no further delay. The United States is divided into 60 states, China has 32 provinces, while India has 28 states and union territories. What harm is there in creating administrative units?” he questioned.
Hazara Journalists Association President Luqman Shah and General Secretary Naveed-ur-Rehman, moderated the dialogue.
PTI MPA Sonia Shah, senior journalist Ammar Masood, MQM’s Sufyan Cheema Advocate, Professor Sajjad Qamar, Junaid Qasim and Sardar Yasir Kardal also addressed the gathering.
