Dunya Media Group Chairman Mian Amer Mahmood has said there will be no development until powers are devolved to the grassroots level. Addressing a seminar organised by APSSP “Pakistan 2030: Challenges, Opportunities, and New Directions", he said that Pakistan currently has four provinces, and Punjab makes up 51% of the country. He said our population is massive, and the government does not have control over it He said that at the time of Pakistan's creation, the population of Balochistan was only 1.1 million.

Mian Amer said that Punjab is larger than the other three provinces combined. It has a population of 130 million, and if Punjab were a separate country, it would be the 13th largest in the world. Similarly, if Sindh were a country, it would be the 32nd largest in the world, he added. He said that the World Bank published a report in 2019, which explored what Pakistan would look like when it turns 100 years old. It is often said that Southern Punjab has not seen development because it is far from provincial capital Lahore, and this is absolutely true.

The Dunya Media Group chairman said that Pakistan has so far developed only five capital cities. In Punjab, for the first time, 43 modern air quality monitoring devices and stations equipped with advanced technology have been installed. “Had welfare work been done in Balochistan, the province wouldn't be facing the conditions it is today,” he added. Mian Amer stated that Pakistan's current population is 250 million. Balochistan's population is now around 15 million, while Punjab started with a population of 20 million and now has nearly 130 million.

The population of Sindh today is around 55 million. He stated that in the past 80 years, many leaders and political parties have come into power, and “we cannot say that all leaders were bad.” He suggested, “We are proposing that every division of Pakistan should be made into a province. Doing this would result in a total of 33 provinces.”

The chairman quoted examples of various countries; Mexico has a population of 130 million and 31 provinces, China has 31 provinces, India, which gained independence alongside Pakistan, now has 39 provinces, having created 30 new ones in the past 80 years, Brazil has a population of 220 million and 36 provinces. Pakistan still has only four provinces since its creation, he continued. Mian Amer said that the country’s faced decline in every field and our economic conditions worsened. The dollar continued to rise at its own pace, and the value of the rupee kept on falling.

Various types of governments had come and gone, including martial law, and even though “we lost half the country, our condition has remained the same.” He stated that everyone shares equal responsibility for the country’s present situation. If smaller provinces are created, at least some leaders will emerge who perform well within their own province. Those who advance based on merit will also be capable of delivering on the national level.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)