New Provinces Essential for Better Governance and Sustainable Development: Business Leaders

LAHORE, Aug. 4: Leading business leaders from South Punjab have called for the creation of new provinces, describing it as a logical step and an urgent national requirement to improve governance, accelerate sustainable development, strengthen democratic institutions, and improve the living standards of people across Pakistan.

In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, former FPCCI Vice President Mian Zahid Iqbal Arain, FPCCI Regional Committee on Food Convener Shahid Imran, and Coordinator to the Federal Tax Ombudsman Saif Ur Rehman said the country’s rapidly growing population and expanding administrative responsibilities have made it increasingly difficult for the existing provincial structure to deliver efficient public services and ensure equitable distribution of resources.

They said establishing new administrative units would bring governments closer to the people, improve public service delivery, and enable faster and more effective decision-making. Smaller provinces, they added, would be better positioned to address local priorities such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, industrial development, and employment generation.

The business leaders stressed that such reforms would also strengthen local government institutions by empowering elected representatives to respond to community needs in a more transparent and efficient manner.

They emphasized that any administrative restructuring should be based on constitutional provisions, national consensus, economic viability, and the aspirations of local communities rather than political considerations.

According to the statement, a carefully planned framework for creating new provinces would help reduce regional disparities, promote balanced development, and strengthen national integration.

They concluded that the ultimate objective of these reforms should be to improve citizens’ quality of life through responsive governance, inclusive economic growth, and equal opportunities, adding that administrative reforms combined with empowered local governments would contribute to building a stronger, more prosperous, and better-governed Pakistan.