New provinces essential for good governance and balanced development: South Punjab business leaders

LAHORE, Aug 19: Business community leaders from South Punjab have called for the creation of new provinces, describing it as essential for good governance, balanced development and improvement in the living standards of the people. In a joint statement on Wednesday, former FPCCI Vice President Ch Zahid Iqbal, FPCCI Regional Committee on Food Convener Shahid Iqbal and Coordinator to the Federal Tax Ombudsman Saif Ur Rehman said the government should take practical steps towards fulfilling its constitutional responsibility to create new provinces in the best interests of the regions concerned. They argued that decentralisation of administrative authority would promote transparency, accountability and more effective utilisation of public resources. The business leaders said the existing administrative structure was unable to adequately address the growing needs of the population, particularly in remote and underdeveloped areas. They maintained that the creation of new provinces would bring government institutions closer to the people, improve public service delivery and accelerate economic and social development. They urged the government to ensure equal opportunities for citizens across all regions of the country and take concrete measures to address regional disparities. The business community leaders said the issue of new provinces should be examined purely on administrative, economic and constitutional grounds rather than through political or partisan considerations. They pointed out that South Punjab had enormous potential in agriculture, livestock, industry, trade and services, but inadequate infrastructure and institutional support had hampered the region’s economic growth. They called for a comprehensive national debate and consultations among political parties, constitutional experts, business leaders and civil society representatives to develop a broad consensus on the creation of new provinces. They said decentralisation and stronger regional administrative structures could help unlock the economic potential of less-developed areas while ensuring more efficient governance and equitable distribution of development resources.