INTERIOR Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s proposal for more provinces wasn’t the first time someone close to the establishment made the suggestion.
asserted
someone → make → suggestion
However, this time a stated motivation was also provided: namely, the complete collapse of the existing governance system.
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motivation → state → system
While much has been written about this issue, it has largely been theoretical and speculative, with the closest real-world examples coming from other countries.
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examples → write → countries
The problem with those examples is that, while informative, they mostly exist in a context very different to Pakistan’s, making it difficult to draw parallels.
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it → exist → parallels
But an example closer to home can help us predict better.
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us → help → home
A similarly stated motivation for the merger was given at the time — the utter collapse of the old Fata governance system.
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motivation → state → system
That system has been blamed for the militant takeover in many parts of Fata (now called the merged districts).
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system → blame → Fata
Many also hold it responsible for erstwhile Fata’s extremely poor human development indices compared to the Pakistani average.
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Many → hold → average
The merger with KP, and thus the extension of KP’s institutional structures, laws, and systems, was deemed necessary to resolve Fata’s problems.
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merger → deem → problems
Another proclaimed benefit was that the merger would bring the government closer to the public.
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merger → proclaim → public
The state believed that the militants had filled the void created by an unresponsive government.
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militants → believe → government
So, in many ways, the motivation to merge rested on two beliefs: first, to replace an old, collapsed system with one offering better governance; and second, to involve communities in decision-making by bringing government closer to them.
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motivation → merge → them
Similar justifications are now being touted to support the idea of new provinces.
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justifications → tout → provinces
Eight years after the merger, the question is: how effectively has the change improved both aspects for residents of the merged areas?
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change → improve → areas
The question of whether decision-making has been brought closer to the people and thereby made government institutions more responsive to the public’s needs is perhaps the easier one to answer: there’s no evidence that matters have improved; if anything, the opposite appears to be true.
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opposite → bring → needs
The merged areas still have no share in the NFC and continue to depend on discretionary federal funding.
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areas → merge → funding
In fact, they are a step removed from that planning process, as it must come through KP rather than directly to them.
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it → remove → them
Similarly, the tribal system is, by definition, participatory and community-led.
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system → lead → definition
Replacing it with a more centralised, institutional state structure has decreased community involvement and the power of the local people to run their own affairs.
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Replacing → replace → affairs
The question of governance is more complex, but even here, there is not much improvement.
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question → be → governance
First, the new system is less participatory even in governance, further alienating people from their government.
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system → alienate → government
Second, the administrative system is now far too bureaucratic to respond promptly.
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system → respond → ?
It is increasingly bloated — current administrative expenditures for the merged areas have more than doubled, from about Rs50 billion at the time of the merger to over Rs100bn now.
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expenditures → merge → Rs100bn
Similarly, the judicial process, like elsewhere in the country, is painfully slow, making locals increasingly likely to turn to traditional jirgas rather than the courts.
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locals → make → jirgas
The creation of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and dispute resolution councils, aligned with traditional jirgas and under the guise of the district administration and district police respectively, acknowledges the delay in dispensing justice.
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creation → align → justice
Worse, there has been no marked improvement in any human development indicator; apart from isolated instances, no real examples of systemic improvement in service delivery exist.
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examples → isolate → delivery
Where security is concerned, there is a surge in militant activity in the region, with terrorist incidents and casualty figures worse than in the years before the merger.
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incidents → concern → merger
Clearly, the merger is not preventing the resurgence of militancy in the area.
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merger → prevent → area
What insights does the Fata merger offer into the recently proposed move to create new administrative units?
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merger → offer → units
The merger failed to achieve the improvements that proponents vowed it would bring, even though it had backing at the national level, unlike the idea of new provinces, especially from the three major national political parties (the PML-N, PTI and PPP), establishment experts and development partners.
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it → fail → parties
It was a rare moment in Pakistan’s recent political history in which all three major national parties came together to pass the 25th Constitutional Amendment and then saw it passed in the KP Assembly by consensus.
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it → come → consensus
The idea of new provinces has no such national consensus at the moment; it would look more like arm-twisting if the political parties go ahead with it.
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parties → have → it
However, even in the case of the merger, locals were excluded from the decision-making process, and a majority of Fata’s elected parliamentarians at the time favoured reforms, though they raised serious reservations about how these reforms were being pursued.
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reforms → exclude → reservations
Regrettably, their alarm was disregarded; in fact, it was termed a vain effort by locals to save an archaic system.
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it → disregard → system
One might argue that the merger was, in many ways, a different reform than creating new provinces.
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merger → argue → provinces
Yet both reforms ignore the same basic issue of structure and approach, which must be addressed before there is any redrawing of internal provincial borders or creation of new administrative units.
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which → ignore → units
To have a responsive government, communities need more involvement through a regularly functioning, well-resourced local government system.
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communities → have → system
Helping communities decide the policies they want is essential for a successful transition to new systems.
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they → help → systems
Whether this happens in a larger administrative unit or a smaller one matters less.
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happens → happen → unit
Most importantly, Pakistan needs a mindset shift in how it pursues policy and reforms.
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it → need → policy
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
