IT WAS Philip of Macedon(马其顿的腓力二世，亚历山大大帝之父) who reputedly coined the phrase “divide and rule(分而治之)”, more than 2,000 years ago. Strongmen ever since have employed the tactic to cement(巩固，加强) their power. The military man who really rules Pakistan—despite the existence of a president and a prime minister who are both nominally his superiors—seems to have taken the lesson literally.(真正统治巴基斯坦的那位军人——尽管该国还有总统和总理，名义上都是他的上级——似乎把这一课学得一丝不苟。)
据说，两千多年前，马其顿的腓力二世创造了“分而治之”这一说法。此后，各路强人纷纷用此策略来巩固自己的权力。真正统治着巴基斯坦的那位军人——尽管该国还有总统和总理，名义上都是他的上级——似乎把这一课学得一丝不苟。
Field Marshal(陆军元帅（最高军衔）) Asim Munir, the Trump-flattering head of Pakistan’s armed forces, reportedly wants to do away with(废除，取消) his country’s four provinces, which date to the creation of Pakistan in 1947. They may be divided into 12 new ones, or perhaps 15, or perhaps even 160 much smaller and less powerful units. These new mini-polities(微型政体) might be ruled by elected chiefs, or by provincial or district assemblies, or by nominees(被任命者，提名人) of “the government”: ie, Field Marshal Munir. Although the details have yet to be revealed, it is abundantly clear(一清二楚，非常明显) who will benefit.
陆军元帅阿西姆·穆尼尔——这位对特朗普百般奉承的巴基斯坦武装部队首脑——据报想要废除该国自1947年建国以来就存在的四个省份。它们可能被拆分为12个新省，或者15个，甚至160个更小、权力更弱的单位。这些新的微型政体可能由选举产生的首长管理，也可能由省或县议会管理，或者由“政府”即穆尼尔元帅任命的人管理。尽管细节尚未公布，但谁将从中受益已是一清二楚。
In principle the plan has some logic. The existing four provinces are a mixed bag(好坏参半，参差不齐). The most populous(人口稠密的), Punjab, has 128m inhabitants, slightly over half the national population. (For comparison, only 12% of Americans live in California, America’s most populous state.) Balochistan, the least populous province, has but 15m people, some 6% of the total. Governance in gargantuan(巨大的，庞大的) Punjab is suboptimal(次优的，不够理想的). This is not merely a polite word for corrupt. People in rural areas must travel for many hours to interact with officialdom and lack basic services: less than a quarter of Punjabis have a reliable supply of safe drinking water at home.(农村地区的人必须长途跋涉数小时才能与官员打交道，且缺乏基本服务：不到四分之一的旁遮普人家里有可靠的安全饮用水供应。)
从原则上讲，该计划有一定道理。现有的四个省份情况参差不齐。人口最多的旁遮普省有1.28亿居民，略超过全国人口的一半。（相比之下，只有12%的美国人生活在全美人口最多的加利福尼亚州。）人口最少的俾路支省仅有1500万人，约占总人口的6%。庞大的旁遮普省治理状况欠佳。这可不只是“腐败”的委婉说法。农村地区的人必须长途跋涉数小时才能与官员打交道，且缺乏基本服务：不到四分之一的旁遮普人家里有可靠的安全饮用水供应。