New provinces, old solutions

MANY years ago, a senior official of a multilateral development bank delivered a harsh indictment of Pakistan’s state of affairs: it is a seriously large country run by a succession of non-serious policymaking elite. While the setting for the delivery of this critique was an informal one, it left one pondering its accuracy. Sadly, Pakistan’s ruling elites, irrespective of the political flag they bear, regularly try and prove the gentleman right. The recent spate of political statements on the creation of new provinces serves as an example. Administrative boundaries are not sacrosanct and must…