Islamabad: The debate over creating additional provinces in Pakistan has gained renewed political attention after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif expressed support for establishing up to 12 administrative units.

Speaking about the proposal, Khawaja Asif stressed that any restructuring should be based on administrative requirements rather than linguistic, ethnic or political considerations.

He argued that smaller administrative units could improve public service delivery and bring decision-making closer to local communities.

The minister also called for transferring greater financial and administrative authority from provincial capitals to local institutions. Meanwhile, MQM-P has renewed its demand for new administrative units in Sindh.