Barrister Qazi Naveed Ahmed
Pakistan’s federal structure, as guaranteed by the Constitution, rests upon the principle of provincial autonomy. Yet in practice, the four provinces remain bound within the same colonial-era bureaucratic framework. Political governments make tall claims about performance, but when measured against real outcomes, these statements largely collapse. The true power still resides with chief secretaries, inspector generals, and federal bureaucrats, leaving provincial chief ministers with limited authority. As a result, the debate over “which government is better” becomes misleading; the more relevant question is which one has failed less, since all operate within restricted capacity.
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If one examines the provinces comparatively, the hierarchy of governance failures emerges clearly. Punjab, the largest province with the most resources, continues to struggle with bureaucratic dominance and weak consistency in policies. Human development remains stagnant, with education and health sectors under immense pressure. Sindh faces a dual crisis of urban-rural disparity: Karachi suffers from collapsing infrastructure and poor municipal services, while interior Sindh lags behind in literacy and healthcare. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has received recognition for its police reforms, yet fiscal dependence on the center and chronic deficits undermine governance. Balochistan remains the weakest, with the lowest literacy rates, scarce healthcare facilities, and widespread poverty. In sum, governance failure is most severe in Balochistan, followed by Sindh, Punjab, and then KP, which performs relatively better though still far from adequate.
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True governance cannot be judged by bridges, roads, or temporary development projects. Its real test lies in human capital: improving education, healthcare, employment, innovation, institutional independence, and technological adoption. Unfortunately, all provinces consistently neglect these fundamental sectors. Institutions exist on paper but remain under bureaucratic dominance rather than autonomous functioning. Consequently, institutions weaken over time and governance crises deepen further, leaving citizens disillusioned.
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Global indicators confirm this decline. The World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators place Pakistan below regional peers. According to the UN Human Development Index (HDI), Pakistan ranked 164 out of more than 190 countries in 2024, showing severe underinvestment in human development. The Human Capital Index score of 0.41 implies that a child born in Pakistan today will achieve only 41% of their productive potential. At the provincial level, conditions are even more concerning: literacy in Balochistan remains below 45%, rural Sindh girls lag far behind the national average, Punjab’s secondary education rates remain low despite strong enrollment at primary level, and KP suffers from severe staff shortages in basic health facilities.
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This divergence between political rhetoric and administrative reality is central to Pakistan’s governance problem. Chief ministers and ministers announce reforms, but lack real decision-making autonomy. Provincial governments function as decorative layers while the core authority stays with the federal bureaucracy and establishment. The result is chronic stagnation, poor service delivery, and declining public trust in government institutions.
To overcome this, deep structural reforms are required. First, provinces must receive genuine financial and administrative autonomy to design policies based on local priorities. Second, bureaucratic authority should be restructured to operate under elected leadership, ensuring accountability to the public. Third, long-term investment in human resources—education, healthcare, and employment—must become central policy. Fourth, institutions should be made autonomous, transparent, and free from political or bureaucratic manipulation. Without these steps, governance will continue to be judged not by excellence, but by which province is “least bad.”
Concludingly, the question of “which provincial government performs best” is fundamentally flawed. The reality is that all are trapped in the same bureaucratic and structural crisis. Instead, Pakistan must reframe the question: which province has failed the most, and how can all move beyond being “less bad” toward achieving true good governance? Until colonial bureaucratic legacies are dismantled and real provincial autonomy is granted, governance will remain fragile and citizens will remain deprived of the services they deserve.