Pakistan on the verge of collapse: will it benefit or harm it? Expert explains

News Topical, Digital Desk : Preparations are underway to divide Pakistan once again. Pakistani Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has announced that Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will each be divided into three parts to create 12 smaller provinces. It is claimed that this will simplify governance and improve services. However, experts believe this could lead to more harm than good.

Indeed, the words "Pakistan" and "partition" evoke memories of 1971, when the Islamic Republic was divided and lost its easternmost province, East Pakistan. However, the division being discussed now is of a different kind.

On Sunday, Pakistan's Federal Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said smaller provinces "will definitely be created," arguing that the move would improve governance and service delivery. Smaller provinces are now inevitable, Geo TV reported.

Pakistan Minister Abdul Aleem Khan announced that a total of 12 new smaller provinces will be created by dividing each province of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into three parts.

It's worth noting that this is the first time since the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 that demands for partition have been raised within Pakistan. At that time, the country was divided into two parts. This time, there will be eight more.

According to an India Today report, the Pakistani government claims that the division of provinces is due to large provinces, leaving governance at a distance and services unavailable. Creating smaller provinces would bring administration closer to citizens' doorsteps. They cited the examples of India's 28 states and Bangladesh's eight divisions.

What will be the loss

The Pakistani government may claim to be committed to dividing the provinces, but the reality appears to be quite the opposite. Separatist movements are already raging in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Baloch youth are disappearing daily, their bodies being found. The Tehreek-e-Taliban is resurfacing in KP. Therefore, creating new provinces means giving rise to new ethnic and linguistic conflicts.

Sindh CM has refused

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah warned in November that any attempt to touch Sindh would lead to the streets. Karachi's Muttahida Qaumi Movement is the only major party in favor of new provinces, hoping for a separate Karachi-Hyderabad province. However, the PPP and nationalist parties are calling it an "attack on Sindhi identity."

In Pakistan, Shahbaz Sharif's hybrid government is aggressively pursuing this proposal. There is talk of the 28th Constitutional Amendment. But the biggest question now is: Forgetting the lessons of 1971, is Pakistan going to fragment itself into 12 pieces by 2025-26? What will happen if these pieces start fighting each other?

Read More: Two apples and handwash stolen from judge's chamber, something strange happened in Pakistan!