KARACHI: Senior Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader and Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal on Saturday called the creation of smaller provinces ‘a national necessity’ and not a ‘political desire’, arguing that the existing four-province administrative structure has failed to deliver and that the formation of new provinces is essential for the effective functioning of the state.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Sindh regional office of the Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC), the minister said Pakistan’s provinces were exceptionally large compared with those of many countries worldwide.
He said Punjab alone had a larger population than 180 countries, while the other three provinces were also more populous than many countries.
Referring to dozens of provinces Iran, Afghanistan and India have, he highlightedthe difference between Pakistan’s administrative structure and those of other countries in the region.
The minister said that 57.5 per cent of the divisible federal revenue pool was allocated to the provinces, which had received a combined Rs8,844 billion during the current financial year. However, he regretted that the funds were not reaching villages and grassroots communities because provinces had failed to devolve resources and authority further down the administrative hierarchy.
‘The biggest problem is that the provinces have not devolved resources to the grassroots level. The money is being allocated to the provinces but unfortunately notreaching the villages,’ he added.
Describing Karachi as Pakistan’s economic engine, he said the city’s economic potential remained largely untapped, and it could play a pivotal role in pulling the country out of its economic difficulties.
‘Even 10pc of Karachi’s potential has not been tapped yet. The IMF cannot pull Pakistan out of this economic quagmire, but Karachi can,’ he said.
He explained that creating smaller provinces should not be seen as a threat to national unity. He gave an example of an expanding family that needed addi-tional rooms to accommodate its growing members.
‘When a family grows, a new room has to be built. It does not mean that the house is being broken up or divided,’ he said.
Speaking about the AHPC’s regional office in Sindh, the minister called it an important step towards facilitating healthcare professionals and students in the province. He said they would no longer need to travel to Islamabad to resolve their professional and administrative issues.
The new office would provide a one-window facility for allied health professionals, students and educational institutions across Sindh, enabling them to access information and seek solutions to their problems locally, he said, expressing the hope that similar council offices would be established in all provinces.
The minister also stressed the need to transform Pakistan’s growing population into a skilled workforce, saying the government could not provide public-sector jobs to all 260 million citizens.
He said creating employment opportunities for a rapidly expanding population remained a major national challenge and that the country needed to focus on skills development, technical education and human resource development.
He said countries with large populations had achieved economic progress by investing in skills and developing their human capital, adding that Pakistan must adopt a similar approach, particularly for its youth.