No new names needed- Retain the Historic Names that Form the Bases of PAKISTAN
It was just after Fajr prayer. Two steaming mugs stood on my desk, although I was all alone at The Eyrie — my Eagle’s Nest. I was enjoying my hot tea and reading a news clipping.
Former federal information minister Muhammad Ali Durrani had announced the launch of a nationwide campaign for creating smaller provinces in Pakistan.
For my regular readers, there is nothing surprising about my interest in this subject. They know that the creation of new provinces has long been one of my favourite subjects, indeed, a task close to my heart.
But there is one condition: I can not accept replacing the historical names of existing provinces. Their identities, histories, and cultural heritage deserve respect. If a genuinely new province or constitutional entity is created, a new name is perfectly understandable. My proposed Special Federal Province is one such example.
Chin! Chin! Chin!
The melodious chiming of tiny brass bells announced the arrival of my wandering Darvesh, BāBā-Tāl [the Bell-man]. My readers know that he can appear anywhere, anytime, but The Eyrie remains his favourite destination.
There he stood, wearing his familiar navy-blue robe stitched with tiny brass bells, blue jeans torn at both knees, loose threads dangling, and joggers.
“Bacha! My coffee?”
“Here it is, BāBā!” I replied, handing him his mug.
“Winter is just around the corner!” he remarked, settling into his chair beside my desk.
His deep, centuries-old eyes caught the news clipping.
“No doubt, Durrani is a serious politician and a man of wisdom!” he observed.
I nodded. “Indeed, BāBā. His campaign deserves serious national attention. Pakistan can not continue managing an ever-growing population through an administrative structure that often keeps government far beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.”
He took a sip, paused, and looked towards me.
“But Bacha, are we discussing new provinces merely to redraw boundaries, or are we prepared to redesign governance itself?”
That was the question!
I explained that my proposal was not about dividing Pakistan, creating ethnic rivalries, or replacing one set of political power centres with another. It was about bringing administration closer to the people, ensuring equitable development, and making public institutions answerable to citizens.
BāBā-Tāl smiled, his bells chiming softly.
“Then let us discuss a federation that preserves historical identities while making room for genuinely new constitutional arrangements.”
And so, our morning conversation began.
Pakistan does not necessarily need new names on its map; it needs a more sensible map of governance.
For decades, the debate over creating new provinces has remained trapped between political interests, regional sensitivities, and constitutional apprehensions. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens continue to travel hundreds of miles, sometimes spending days, to reach provincial capitals for administrative decisions, public services, and even basic government attention.
Is this what a federation is supposed to deliver?
Pakistan is a diverse country with distinct geographical, cultural, linguistic, and economic realities. Its administrative structure must reflect these realities rather than perpetuate arrangements that have become increasingly difficult to manage. Bringing government closer to citizens is not an attack on national unity; it is an investment in it.
My proposal is straightforward: reorganise Pakistan into manageable administrative provinces, retain historical provincial names wherever possible, and establish a constitutional framework that gives every region a fair opportunity to govern itself.
There is no wisdom in manufacturing new identities when existing historical identities can be respected. Nor should provincial reorganisation become an exercise in political revenge, ethnic division, or the redistribution of power among competing elites.
The objective must be administrative efficiency, equitable development, accessible justice, and a fairer distribution of national resources.
One particularly important dimension deserves separate consideration: a Special Federal Province, comprising four geographically separated metropolitan territories — Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and Gwadar — operating under one constitutional roof, with four empowered local governments.
These territories have different geographical positions and economic functions, yet each can contribute to a coordinated national framework without surrendering its local administrative responsibilities.
“Bacha!” BāBā-Tāl leaned back, holding his hot coffee mug in both hands. “Consider another dimension of your proposal. Why must every institution of a province operate from one city? Pakistan could examine a Special Federal Province comprising four geographically separated metropolitan territories — Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and Gwadar — united by their national responsibilities rather than geographical continuity.
“Look at South Africa: Pretoria houses the executive, Cape Town the Parliament, and Bloemfontein the Supreme Court of Appeal. India’s Union Territory of Puducherry, meanwhile, comprises four geographically separated regions. These are not identical models, but they demonstrate that administrative arrangements need not always follow one continuous geographical boundary.
“Your proposed distribution could be: Governor’s Secretariat and residence in Islamabad; Chief Minister’s Secretariat and executive headquarters in Lahore; Provincial Assembly and its Secretariat in Gwadar; and the principal seat of the proposed High Court in Karachi, with benches in all four territories. Each territory would retain an elected metropolitan government with meaningful authority over its civic affairs.
“Why consider this? Because citizens should not have to travel hundreds of miles, spend money, and lose working days to reach government offices or seek justice. Distributed institutions, accessible courts, digital services, and empowered local governments could bring administration closer to the public while facilitating coordination in commerce, infrastructure, ports, and development.
“Bacha! This must never become an attempt to deprive Punjab, Sindh, or Balochistan of their historical identity or constitutional rights. Nor should it create four expensive centres of bureaucratic privilege. The arrangement would require constitutional amendment, democratic consent, clearly defined jurisdiction, fair revenue distribution, and safeguards for every affected community.
“Remember, the purpose is not to create another collection of official residences, titles, and protocol. It is to make government accessible, justice reachable, and public money productive.
“Four territories. Four institutional centres. One constitutional identity. And one overriding purpose — public service.”
The larger question is how Pakistan can combine a strong federation with empowered local governance. Central coordination and regional autonomy need not be enemies. They can become complementary instruments of national progress.
This is not about dividing Pakistan into smaller political possessions. It is about making the state more accessible, accountable, and responsive to its people.
“Bacha!”
He smiled and continued:
“Now is the time to suggest something different. Let Pakistan first create its new provinces through constitutional and democratic means. Let their people elect their own Chief Ministers.
“Then, Bacha, let all the newly elected Chief Ministers gather in Gwadar to sign the Gwadar Accord.
“Imagine it! The elected heads of the newly established provincial governments sitting together on the soil of Balochistan, making a collective commitment to national harmony, equitable development, interprovincial cooperation, and the protection of every province’s constitutional rights.
“Let them discuss shared economic interests, water and resource management, connectivity, education, healthcare, trade, and the future of the Federation.
“Let Gwadar become the place where the newly reorganised provinces pledge to work together—not as competitors, but as partners in one Federation.”
BāBā-Tāl took another sip of his hot coffee. Without putting the mug down, he wrapped both hands around it, looked directly into my eyes, and asked:
“Did you get my point?”
The Gwadar Accord would not create a parallel constitutional authority; it would give a collective political voice to elected provincial leadership, strengthening the Federation through cooperation rather than confrontation.
The principle behind this entire exercise is not complicated. The administration of a country is a public trust. Its institutions must serve people with justice, not privilege, a handful of powerful interests.
The Holy Qur’an provides the fundamental guidance:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تُؤَدُّوا الْأَمَانَاتِ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهَا وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَن تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ
“Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due and when you judge between people to judge with justice.”
Reference: The Holy Qur’an, Surah An-Nisā, 4:58.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad [Peace and blessings be upon him] said:
“Everyone of you is a guardian and is responsible for his charges. The Imam (ruler) of the people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects.”
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7138, Book of Judgements.
Leadership is not ownership. Authority is not a personal entitlement. It is a responsibility towards those whose lives and futures depend upon the decisions of their rulers.
Across the Western democratic tradition, Abraham Lincoln expressed a similar ideal in his historic Gettysburg Address, delivered on 19 November 1863:
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
A government must remain answerable to its people. Administrative restructuring should bring government closer to citizens rather than place another distance between the ruler and the ruled.
A boundary drawn should bring the people near,
Not make their homes, their heritage disappear.
Perhaps the entire philosophy of this proposal can be captured in a few lines:
POETEARS — Coined by S. T. Hejazi
[Where poetry becomes tears, and tears become poetry.]
A state is not its borders, nor its capitals alone,
Its strength is in the people and the seeds that they have sown;
Let every region flourish, let justice play its part,
For a federation lives when none are left poor.
Our guiding principle should be simple: administrative boundaries must serve citizens, not citizens, and serve administrative boundaries.
Pakistan needs a pencil, not a dagger, to redraw its administrative future.
The purpose is not to divide the nation but to make its federation work.
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