By Sikander Hayat
At the moment Punjab has 60% of the population of Pakistan. Other Pakistanis think that Punjab is the usurper of their resources while at the same time people of Punjab are suffering the same prejudices as everyone else in the federation, like any Baloch, Sindhi, Pakhtun, Kashmiri, Balti & Hazara.
Saying that, I must add that sometimes perceptions are as powerful as truth and there is a need to allay those fears.
Many scholars in Pakistan have studied
and commented upon case-histories such as Switzerland, Belgium, India and Nigeria, populated like Pakistan by diverse people having different languages and cultures. Switzerland has German, French, Italian and Romanch as languages and culture. Like the Punjab (60%) in Pakistan, Switzerland is dominated by the Germans (70%) but the country is divided into 26 cantons. At the time of independence in 1947, India had 7 provinces and a few Union-administered territories despite 24 distinct languages.
Why then Pakistan can’t have more provinces.
Gen Burki has recommended 17 provinces. According to him Federal Government should have follwing areas under it:
(1) Defence
(2) Foreign Affairs
(3) Currency and Fiscal Policies
(4) Trade and Commerce, only policy
(5) Federal Taxation
(6) Railways
(7) Federal Highways and Motorways
(8) Water and Power
(9) Education, only basic policy and
(10) TV, Radio and Telecommunications.
& the Provinces would have
(1) Agriculture
(2) Irrigation
(3) Power Generation and Distribution
(4) Trade and Commerce
(5) Provincial Taxation
(6) Local Government and Provincial Highways.
According to eminent political scholar Ikram Sehgal “ Punjab should have four Provinces centred on Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sargodha, and Rahimyar Khan.
Sindh should have 2 Provinces centred around Karachi (less the Port and adjacent areas) and Hyderabad (Keti Bundar must be with Hyderabad).
Similarly NWFP should have 2 provinces
centred around Peshawar and Abbottabad. Balochistan should be split into 2 provinces centred around Quetta and Kalat, for a total of 11 with the Northern Areas (Gilgit/Skardu Dir/Chitral/Swat) constituting a separate Province, making it 12 in all.
The Federal territories should include Islamabad, Karachi Port/Adjacent areas and Gwadar.”
Mr Ikram Sehgal takes the view that the savings made by the good governance provided by these new smaller provinces will mitigate the expenses that will occur due to requirement for new political infrastructure. According to him “There may be all sorts of arguments about spending more on
Governors, Chief Ministers, Ministers, Assemblies etc but this is a necessary price not only for better administration but also for development. Even our smallest Provinces will be larger than 50 to 75 countries of the world. Each Province should have its own Assembly, the size varying according to population. The leaders of local government must act dually as Administrators and Assemblymen.”
He further says “ To give equal opportunity to each Province in the Federation they must have Members of National Assembly (MNA) as per a set delimitation as well as 5 Senators each in the Senate, all duly directly elected and 2 technocrats each (one male, one female) indirectly elected.
The Federal Territories will have 5 Senators, 2 each for Islamabad and Karachi Port/Adjacent area and one for Gwadar (plus 2 technocrats). There should be no quota except for one or two genuinely
backward areas and that too only a nominal one. Merit should be the only qualification for recognition and appointment. The buzzword for separation of East Pakistan was disparity, in creating more provinces and doing away with quotas we not only ensure parity but enter the new millennium as genuine and equal partners of a Federation made much more effective and viable.”
I believe that there is a need for a genuine debate among Pakistanis on this issue because the terrorism that we see today is a symptom not the real disease. The real disease is the feeling among the common man of Pakistan that power structures of Pakistani state are out of his reach and that is why there is need to bring these institutions of power closer to the people.
e.g currently if someone living in Bahawalnagar has a legal issue that he wants to pursue, he has to travel to Lahore where the Punjab high court sits. It is not possible for people of lower incomes to pursue this course of action. This in turn starves people of justice they deserve and breeds contempt for the system which leads to social unrest.
At the moment Punjab has 60% of the population of Pakistan. Other Pakistanis think that Punjab is the usurper of their resources while at the same time people of Punjab are suffering the same prejudices as everyone else in the federation, like any Baloch, Sindhi, Pakhtun, Kashmiri, Balti & Hazara.
Saying that, I must add that sometimes perceptions are as powerful as truth and there is a need to allay those fears.
Many scholars in Pakistan have studied
and commented upon case-histories such as Switzerland, Belgium, India and Nigeria, populated like Pakistan by diverse people having different languages and cultures. Switzerland has German, French, Italian and Romanch as languages and culture. Like the Punjab (60%) in Pakistan, Switzerland is dominated by the Germans (70%) but the country is divided into 26 cantons. At the time of independence in 1947, India had 7 provinces and a few Union-administered territories despite 24 distinct languages. Why then Pakistan can’t have more provinces.
Gen Burki has recommended 17 provinces. According to him Federal Government should have follwing areas under it:
(1) Defence
(2) Foreign Affairs
(3) Currency and Fiscal Policies
(4) Trade and Commerce, only policy
(5) Federal Taxation
(6) Railways
(7) Federal Highways and Motorways
(8) Water and Power
(9) Education, only basic policy and
(10) TV, Radio and Telecommunications.
& the Provinces would have
(1) Agriculture
(2) Irrigation
(3) Power Generation and Distribution
(4) Trade and Commerce
(5) Provincial Taxation
(6) Local Government and Provincial Highways.
According to eminent political scholar Ikram Sehgal “ Punjab should have four Provinces centred on Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sargodha, and Rahimyar Khan.
Sindh should have 2 Provinces centred around Karachi (less the Port and adjacent areas) and Hyderabad (Keti Bundar must be with Hyderabad).
Similarly NWFP should have 2 provinces
centred around Peshawar and Abbottabad. Balochistan should be split into 2 provinces centred around Quetta and Kalat, for a total of 11 with the Northern Areas (Gilgit/Skardu Dir/Chitral/Swat) constituting a separate Province, making it 12 in all. The Federal territories should include Islamabad, Karachi Port/Adjacent areas and Gwadar.”
Mr Ikram Sehgal takes the view that the savings made by the good governance provided by these new smaller provinces will mitigate the expenses that will occur due to requirement for new political infrastructure. According to him “There may be all sorts of arguments about spending more on
Governors, Chief Ministers, Ministers, Assemblies etc but this is a necessary price not only for better administration but also for development. Even our smallest Provinces will be larger than 50 to 75 countries of the world. Each Province should have its own Assembly, the size varying according to population. The leaders of local government must act dually as Administrators and Assemblymen.”
He further says “ To give equal opportunity to each Province in the Federation they must have Members of National Assembly (MNA) as per a set delimitation as well as 5 Senators each in the Senate, all duly directly elected and 2 technocrats each (one male, one female) indirectly elected.
The Federal Territories will have 5 Senators, 2 each for Islamabad and Karachi Port/Adjacent area and one for Gwadar (plus 2 technocrats). There should be no quota except for one or two genuinely
backward areas and that too only a nominal one. Merit should be the only qualification for recognition and appointment. The buzzword for separation of East Pakistan was disparity, in creating more provinces and doing away with quotas we not only ensure parity but enter the new millennium as genuine and equal partners of a Federation made much more effective and viable.”
I believe that there is a need for a genuine debate among Pakistanis on this issue because the terrorism that we see today is a symptom not the real disease. The real disease is the feeling among the common man of Pakistan that power structures of Pakistani state are out of his reach and that is why there is need to bring these institutions of power closer to the people.
e.g currently if someone living in Bahawalnagar has a legal issue that he wants to pursue, he has to travel to Lahore where the Punjab high court sits. It is not possible for people of lower incomes to pursue this course of action. This in turn starves people of justice they deserve and breeds contempt for the system which leads to social unrest.
but in the ongoing currents scenario, we just need unity, instead of demand of new provinces. If we're united there's no need of any new province.
ReplyDeleteI have been supporting this idea of more provinces for the very same reasons that you point out.
ReplyDeleteMany previous countries in Europe such as France and Germany had the same problem that one big province tended to dominate the others...even though they all spoke the same languange and ethnic group. In case of germany this was Prussia.
In france they split up the provinces into departments, and same in germany. This made government significantly more responsive and agile and made all the regions more equal with one another in terms of size.
Hi, thanks for your comment. The current flood situations would have been better managed if the provinces were smaller with the local governments who have to cover less area then what is currently the case. If the idea of new provinces is too unfathomable for some people than perhaps strong local governments with fiscal powers is the answer.
ReplyDeleteYes they need new provinces , as they have many kids now, the nawabs , mians , chaudhries , Bhuttos, Durranis , amirs ,Khans etc etc our godfathers.Only four provinces and only four Governers , four CMs and only half a thousand ministers , advisors . How could all the sons and daughters and brothers , sisters , wives and loved ones be accomodated.This injustice must be dealt with , by making new provinces now an in future too as per their family requirement.And Pakistan is one of the richest countries on earth( they are looting for half a century and still some begged pennies are left , so gentlemen go ahead and take it apart to get your share.
ReplyDeleteDear Muhammad Ashraf Khan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment.I take your point about the corrupt dynastic politics of Pakistan. What you have said is correct but my argument is purely on the administrative basis. If you just take the example of Punjab, its population is roughly 80 million and one man ( chief minister ) is hell bent on running the province on his own. United Kingdom has a population of roughly 60 million and it is run at a county level with many local councils making financial/ law & order decisions at the local level. How on earth one person can run the affairs of 80 million people. Similar argument can be made about Sindh ( roughly 60 million population), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa & Baluchistan.
Either all Divisions of Pakistan be declared administrative units or as I mentioned in my original piece new provinces need to be created but one thing is certain and that is the present system is not working and has to be changed to run the affairs of this nation in accordance with the wishes of its people.
FIVE REGIONAL CITIES should be upgraded with in the provinces in Pakistan. Regional cities of Dera Ismail Khan in NWFP, Gawadar/ Qalat in Balouchistan, Sukkar/ Larkana in Upper Sind, Jehlam/ Rawalpindi and Multan in Punjab province. These regional cities have been ignored by the federal and provincial governments although these cities have their own history, culture and languages.Dera Ismail Khan in south of Pakhtun khwa/MWFP is under seige, Multan/DG Khan in south of Punjab is next target of religious extremists,Sukkar/ Larkana is being rule by criminals, Gawadar/ Qalat is trouble some. The people of these regions have to travel to provincial capitals for every small issue and requirement of the daily life which should be provided in nearby cities. A good number of population travel to big cities for their survival to earn livelihood as the local feudal own majority land and keep the common man as their slaves. Creation of regional government and upgrading of the regional cities will save a lot of money and time of the poor people of these regions. Circuit benches of the High Courts are already working in these areas and only requirement is the additional staff of different departments involved in additional work at the provincial capitals. The concern authorities should immediately consider to upgrade the regional cities. And immediate attention should be given upgrade/build the airports,TV station, civic center, libraries,hospitals, educational institutes and investment opportunities for Pakistanis living abroad and foreign firms to create jobs in the area as majority population in rural Pakistan do not have enough resources to survive. It remind me the condition of pre Islamic revolution of Iran in Shah time when the rural Iran was ignored and the capital Tehran was developed in a way to call it Paris of Middle East with modern life style. Couple of other big cities like Isfahan and Caspian sea was taken care of because of foreign tourists but rural area was ruled by cruel police and intelligence. Then what happen rural population supported the Islamic revolution and moved to Tehran and other big cities later on. The new government after revolution developed, built and upgraded the rural areas of Iran accordingly. A fund to upgrade/build these regional cities in Pakistan should be intoduced by public and private sector and Pakistani government, our foreign friends and Pakistanis living abroad may be asked to participate in this development mission in the country..KHWAJA AFTAB ALI,( former secretary, Iranian embassy, Saudi Arabia,1975-88) Advocate High Court & I.P. Attorney-first & the only Pakistani lawyer who earned Intellectual Property laws scholarship in USA,presently residing in Florida, USA. pip.law@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteTHE movement by some politicians, both in the government and in the opposition, to make new provinces is highly dangerous.
ReplyDeleteNew provinces will further divide the people of the country. Instead, politicians should try to unite Pakistan. Obviously, the motives of these politicians in demanding new provinces are totally self-serving, with disregard for the good of the country and its people.
Ethnic cleansing or attempted ethnic cleansing has already started in Karachi, interior Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. New provinces will put Pakistan on the slippery slope towards a breakup of the entire country.
Instead of new provinces, the existing provinces should be abolished as they are a major source of conflict and disunity in the country.
A unitary system of government, instead of a federal system, should be established to unite the country. The country may then be divided into non-ethnic administrative areas for easier administration.
One way of doing this is, after abolishing the provinces, the present divisions and districts could remain as administrative units.
ABID SHAIKH Karachi