How will Pakistan look in 2015?

In year 2015, the administrative units (states & provinces) of Pakistan will consist of sixteen provinces (including Gilgit-Baltistan), one federal capital territory, one state (Azad Jammu and Kashmir) and two Indian occupied states (Occupied Jammu & Kashmir and Junagadh & Manwadar).
 
If we study countries populated like Pakistan, with diverse people having different languages and cultures – e.g., Switzerland, Belgium, India and Nigeria. Switzerland has German, French, Italian and Romansch as its national languages. Ethnic Germans (Seventy percent of the population) dominate Switzerland (like Punjab does in Pakistan). Switzerland is divided into twenty-six  self-governing (and quite independent) cantons. In 1947, India had seven provinces and a few Union-administered territories despite the country having twenty-four distinct languages. For better administration and to ease ethnic diversity, India now has twenty-eight states and nine union territories. Nigeria, which went through a civil war in the 1960s, went from three regions to ninteen states before a semblance of unity and cohesion could be achieved.

In Pakistan sixteen provinces in a reasonable balance between populations and area sizes are recommended. In the light of administrative and linguistic basis in Pakistan and on the premise that there will be no right of secession, the National Assembly taking over any provincial government if it feels the country’s sovereignty is endangered. The number of administrative units could be increased. Punjab could be divided into five provinces, Potwar (Rawalpindi), East Punjab (Lahore), West Punjab (Faisalabad), Punjnad-Saraikistan (Multan), and Bahawalpur-Cholistan (Bahawalpur). Similarly Sindh should also be divided into three provinces, Urdustan (Karachi), Sindh (Hyderabad) and Mehran (Sukkur). Similarly Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa needs such entities, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (Peshawar), Hazara (Abbottabad), the Federal Administered Tribal Areas and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Fata and Pata) joined togetter to form Qabailistan (Miran Shah / Peshawar) and Kohistan (Mingora). Balochistan should have three administrative units, Sulaimania (Quetta) Baluchistan  (Kallat / Quetta), and Makran (Gawadar). The Gilgit-Baltistan province already constitute a separate entity. All these take the number to sixteen. The Federal Administered Territories should include Islamabad only. Azad Jammu & Kashmir should also get rights equivalent to a province if not more. Moreover, the status of Indian held states of Jammu & Kashmir and Junagadh & Manwadar should be legalized as part of Pakistan. Even our smallest province will be larger than scores of countries of the world. 

List of proposed administrative units with their respective headquarters and districts is as follows:

Islamabad

• Islamabad - The federal capital of Pakistan, consists of a single district.

East Punjab

• Lahore - The headquarter of East Punjab province.
• Gujranwala
• Gujrat
• Hafizabad
• Kasur
• Mandi Bahauddin
• Narowal
• Nankana Sahib
• Okara
• Pakpattan
• Sahiwal
• Sheikhupura
• Sialkot

West Punjab

• Faisalabad - The headquarter of West Punjab province.
• Bhakkar
• Chiniot
• Jhang
• Khushab
• Mianwali
• Sargodha
• Toba Tek Singh

Potwar

• Rawalpindi - The headquarter of Potwar province.
• Attock
• Chakwal
• Jhelum 
• Murree-Kahuta
• Taxila

Punjnad-Saraikistan

• Multan - The headquarter of Punjnad-Saraikistan province.
• Dera Ismail Khan
• Dera Ghazi Khan
• Khanewal
• Layyah
• Lodhran
• Muzaffargarh
• Rajanpur
• Vehari

Bahawalpur-Cholistan

• Bahawalpur - The headquarter of Bahawalpur-Cholistan province.
• Bahawalnagar
• Rahim Yar Khan

Urdustan

• Karachi Central - The headquarter of Urdustan province.
• Karachi South
• Karachi East
• Karachi West
• Ibrahim Haideri
• Layari
• Malir

Sindh

• Hyderabad - The headquarter of Sindh province.
• Badin
• Dadu
• Jamshoro
• Matiari
• Mirpurkhas
• Shaheed Benazirabad / Nawabshah
• Qambar Shahdadkot
• Sanghar
• Tando Allahyar
• Tando Muhammad Khan
• Tharparkar
• Thatta
• Umerkot

Mehran

• Sukkur - The headquarter of Mehran province.
• Ghotki
• Jacobabad
• Kashmore
• Khairpur
• Larkana
• Naushahro Firoze
• Shikarpur

Khyber-Pakhtunkhuwa

• Peshawar - The headquarter of Khyber-Pakhtunkhuwa province.
• Bannu
• Charsadda
• Hangu
• Karak
• Kohat
• Lakki Marwat
• Mardan
• Nowshera
• Peshawar
• Swabi
• Tank

Qabailistan

• Peshawar - The headquarter of Qabailistan province. 
  
• Miranshah - The second headquarter of Qabailistan province. 
• Bajaur Agency
• Mohmand Agency
• Khyber Agency
• Frontier Region Peshawar
• Frontier Region Kohat
• Orakzai Agency
• Kurram Agency
• Frontier Region Bannu
• North Waziristan Agency
• Frontier Region Lakki Marwat
• Frontier Region Tank
• South Waziristan Agency
• Frontier Region Dera Ismail Khan

Hazara

• Abbottabad - The headquarter of Hazara province.
• Battagram
• Haripur
• Mansehra

Kohistan

• Mingora - The headquarter of Kohistan province.
• Buner
• Chitral
• Kohistan
• Lower Dir
• Malakand
• Shangla
• Swat
• Upper Dir

Baluchistan

• Quetta - The headquarter of Baluchistan province.
• Kalat - The second headquarter of Baluchistan province.
• Bolan
• Chagai
• Jafarabad
• Jhal Magsi
• Kalat
• Kharan
• Khuzdar
• Mastung
• Nasirabad
• Nushki
• Washuk

Sulaimania

• Quetta - The headquarter of Baluchistan province.
• Barkhan
• Dera Bugti
• Harnai
• Kohlu
• Killa Abdullah
• Killa Saifullah
• Loralai
• Musakhel
• Pishin
• Sherani
• Sibi
• Zhob
• Ziarat

Makran

• Gawadar - The headquarter of Makran province.
• Awaran
• Kech
• Lasbela
• Panjgur

Gilgit-Baltistan

• Gilgit - The headquarter of Gilgit-Baltistan province.
• Ghanche
• Skardu
• Astore
• Diamer
• Ghizer
• Hunza-Nagar

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

• Muzaffarabad- The headquarter of Azad Jammu and Kashmir state.
• Hattian
• Neelum
• Mirpur
• Bhimber
• Kotli
• Poonch
• Bagh
• Haveli
• Sudhnati

Jammu and Kashmir (Indian Occupied)

• Srinagar - The summer headquarter of Jammu and Kashmir state.
• Jammu - The winter headquarter of Jammu and Kashmir state.

Junagadh and Manwadar (Indian Occupied)

• Junagadh - The headquarter of Junagadh and Manwadar states.

Related Posts: Why limiting Saraikistan to Punjab only?

Update 4th May: The National Assembly adopted the resolution for the formation of South Punjab, a new Province.

Update 9th May: The Punjab Assembly has adopted resolutions of the creation of South Punjab and Bahawalpur Provinces.