Comparing Pakistan with Kuwait which has far less area and population but has six provinces. The area of Kuwait is 17, 818 square kilometers area and population of 2.3 million as vis-a-vis Pakistan is an inhabitant of over 170 million people and having 7,96,096 square kilometers area but has only four provinces.
The more the provinces will be, the more representation of the people will be. Advantages of demarcating new provinces will not only solve the problems of people at gross root level but also assist to administer all areas of country at ease.
The ambition of concurrent list in eighteenth amendment of 1973 Constitution, is a good omen for provincial autonomy. It will imply powers of legislating on residing powers to the provinces. The real issue is not of provincial autonomy but of making new federating units to strengthen federation.
It is written in Objective Resolution of 1949 that Pakistan will be a federation where provinces will get maximum autonomy. Furthermore, Quaid-E-Azam's fourteen points also favors decentralization.
The pivotal point of creating new provinces are those political parties which do not wish to establish autonomy of gross root level. They wish to hold the helm of affairs in few hands. Concentration of powers is creating deprivation amongst far areas of periphery. They are not getting their due share. Infrastructure, political administration are only limited to metropolitan. Backwardness of country lies in squeezing political, economical, and social realms into few hands. Exploitative behavior of core political spots to their periphery deprived places would lead to further chaos and adverse situation.
Looking from historical perspective, one can not deny the facts. East Bengal, the largest federating unit from 1995-1970 was denied its due representation and resources and it led to its tragic end with the dismemberment of the country. On the other hand, ethnic, linguistic and local identities were forcibly negated in the disguise . If people are devoid of their fundamental rights in political, economic, and above all identical rights, the country would certainly repeat its history.
The subsequent events after the creation of Bangladesh did not improve he situation rather it exacerbated the scenario when the elected government launched operation in Baluchistan and the Khyber Pakhtun Khuwan to quell insurgencies and demand of local autonomy. During the decade of democracy (1998- 1999), things improved but only marginally.
Another military coup further deteriorated the situation when the central government launched military action against Baluchistan's insurgencies in 2002.
The national media and political parties are stipulating the creation of Hazara, Seraiki or Bahawalpur provinces. They have been a few voices to partitioning the Pakhtun areas of Baluchistan and merging them with Khyber Pakhtun Khuwan (KPK) province.There are some speculations to make Karachi an independent federating unit thus dividing Sindh as well. However, the major stakeholder Mutahida Qaumi Movement(MQM) has clearly articulated its position that it is not in favor of a separate Karachi province. Other provincial parties including ruling People's Party and its ally PML-Q are proponents of establishing Southern Punjab and Hazara provinces. Another ally, ANP in KPK is not favoring in restructuring of province. Recently, MQM has put forward twentieth amendment in the Parliament demanding creation for Seraiki and Hazara provinces. While explicating PML-N view, it is revealed that it was not in favor of demarcation of only separation of provinces due to mounting public sentiments of the Southern Punjab.
Creating new provinces should not be envisaged through short term electoral gains of political parties but there is an need to look it from broad objective point of view. Punjab, for instance, has a population of 100 million, it is nearly impossible to administer such a densely populated area under thew auspices of Punjab Government.Similarly, the relative underrepresentation of South Punjab in bureaucracy is another grievance of the people of that area. The citizens of Southern Punjab time and again complained about not getting adequate development has been in the "urban" areas of the Punjab.
In terms of economic viability, it has been stated that Hazara province is a feasible proposal given it's natural resources and ability to generate revenues. On the other hand, the Seraiki province will be a least viable province due to its agrarian base and positioning in terms of water resources. The Pakhtun belt of Baluchistan earns it's money through trade with Afghanistan and has coal reserves in the Loralai and Zhob regions, estimated at roughly 200 million tonnes.
Looking at challenges ahead, it is not easy to achieve an agreement on more provinces will need to handle forty seven developed subjects of the concurrent list. In the absence of financial capital and limited administrative experience, makes the prospects even more complicated. In addition, weak tax machineries and potential socio-political upheaval pose another challenge for development of other provinces.
Countering this argument, it is pertinent to quote examples of early history of administrative setup after the inception of country which overcame the issues of huge migrants from the sub-continent, infrastructural implementations and socio-economic and political hurdles. Moreover, the people of neglected areas should be trained to run their newly developed setup on one hand and relocation of surplus pool of the federal government on the other hand show glimpses of greater provincial autonomy.
There are strong social, political, and cultural arguments of creating new provinces. Development of new provinces requires critical thinking and studying the experiences of India and the US which have now 29 and 50 federating units respectively. Power has been centralized for a long time which resulted in nurturing oligarchies and lobbies to flourish.
Haring said that establishment of new provinces is inevitable, it is also mandatory that an effective local government structure be set up for good and effective governance. Now is the time to decentralize the powers and distribute resources for the greater interests of citizens of periphery. There is a big question mark on the federation of one-nation that could not deliver a new fifth boggy in the six decades of it's existence.
Although, formidable legal, economic, and administrative challenges are amid which need to be resolved through a parliamentary nation commission.
Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.
Paul Valery (1871 - 1945)
Syed Rumman Athar,
Senior II E,
The City School, Capital Campus, Islamabad.
rummanshah1996@gmail.com
