Divide and Rule: Army Chief Asim Munir Proposes To Divide Pakistan Into 15 Smaller Administrative Units

Field Marshal Asim Munir and Pakistan’s military leadership have drafted a proposal to break up the country’s four historic provinces into 12 to 15 smaller administrative units, aiming to overhaul national governance and fragment regional political strongholds.

The sweeping plan, detailed in an analysis by The Economist, seeks to dismantle the long-standing administrative architecture comprising Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.

Administrative Rationale Behind the Provincial Split

According to the proposal, the current provincial boundaries have become functionally unmanageable. Punjab alone houses more than 120 million residents, making it larger than most European nations combined. Military planners argue that this concentration of population creates massive bureaucracy, severe municipal failures, and highly unequal development across regional districts.

Under the proposed model, replacing giant provinces with 12 to 15 smaller states would streamline tax collection, accelerate local infrastructure projects, and improve basic public service delivery by bringing government authorities closer to local populations.

Consolidating Central Power in Rawalpindi

While presented as an administrative efficiency drive, the structural shift carries profound political implications for Pakistan's major parties. Carving up Punjab would directly fracture the traditional political base of the ruling Sharif family's PML-N. Similarly, partitioning Sindh would dismantle the decades-old regional dominance maintained by the Bhutto-Zardari family’s PPP.

The reorganization would also prevent populist leaders from capturing large provincial governments—such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Punjab—and using those state resources to launch political blockades against the federal government in Islamabad. By creating smaller, financially weaker units that depend directly on central funding, the move would concentrate political power within the federal apparatus and solidify oversight from Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Constitutional Obstacles and Regional Resistance

Executing the proposal faces major legal and political hurdles under Pakistan's existing constitution. Altering provincial boundaries requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament alongside formal approvals from each affected provincial assembly.

The plan also risks triggering severe opposition across ethnic belts. In Sindh and Balochistan, where provincial borders are tied deeply to regional identity, any attempt by central authorities to divide historic territories is expected to meet intense political pushback and heighten regional tensions.