Daily Times

Solacing a moaning lion is not the solution to any problem; one must pull the thorn out of the lion’s paw in order to comfort the mighty beast. Here, the mighty lion stands for our resourceful country- Pakistan. The absence of provincial demarcation on ethno-demographic basis signifies the thorn which has tied the hands of Pakistan. It has stalled the national progress. Despite a stream of words and lame commitments, nothing concrete has been done so far to solve this urgent problem of Pakistan. Many political and non-political entities have their own axe to grind; so, they have started propagandas against the equitable restructuring of the provinces. Anyhow, the solution to the contemporary challenges of Pakistan lies in devising an equitable distribution plan vis-à-vis the provinces.

Since Pakistan is a conglomerate of diverse ethnicities, clans, tribes, classes and religions, therefore, the current provincial division of Pakistan must be revised. If the new provinces are smartly demarcated on the basis of demography and administration, a lot of existing national problems will be gradually addressed.

The real problem of our homeland originates from the sad reality that the provincial demarcation of Pakistan did not evolve with the passage of time. Had this task been performed earlier, the issues between center and province would not have multiplied to such an extent. The legacy of the British was upheld in Pakistan; the British had upheld a colonial political setup and so did we maintain. The true spirit of democracy had never been gifted to Pakistan. Gwadar is a part and parcel of Pakistan but unfortunately, it was purchased from Oman quite lately in the 1960s. This shows that the imperialistic trends prevailed in Pakistan and the rulers paid little heed to the integration of provinces. As a result, the gulf between the center and the provinces continued to expand. In addition to it, provinces have the same burden. It is not possible for the central government to address the provincial grievances of such large provinces. Thus, the centre-provincial problem exists since the inception of Pakistan. They still are unaddressed despite the NFC award, Council of Common Interest and the Inter provincial water accord.

Before embarking upon the possible models of new provinces, it is imperative to take a stock of all the national and international scenarios

The concentration of multiple ethnicities in a single province is a sensitive matter. Furthermore, the circumstances become more fragile when the diverse ethnicity are coupled with diverse religions. Pakistan is a home to 3.72? non-Muslims. The conflict between religions and ethnicity are inevitable. Thus, in such sensitive circumstances, the provinces shall have the autonomy to respond as per their demography. But in Pakistan, the autonomy become redundant as they are never able to form a consensus due to diversity. If one observes the American model of federating units, one can see that the diverse population is divided into 52 units with every state (unit) having minimum autonomy. However, in Pakistan both key elements of democracy are demarcation and optimum autonomy of the federating units. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the ethnic groups of Hazaras, Seraikis and Muhajirs are deprived of their rights of making a new province. The conventional intelligence thinks that the creation of new provinces will disintegrate Pakistan but it is not the reality. The spirit of integration of a state lies in the unity of diverse provinces. The Westminster model of democracy in India and America are the best manifestation of provincial re-demarcations. Anyhow, Pakistan is waiting for such reforms yet.

A holistic study of Pakistan’s demography shows that Pakistani provinces have unequal population, growth index and resources. Punjab alone is a home to 52.95? of the total population of Pakistan. It consists of only 26? of the total area of Pakistan. This depicts that there is a stark difference among the statistics of the provinces. Furthermore, Bahawalpur has no less than 800,000 people. Keeping in view these queer population and area trends, it is imperative to demarcate new provinces, especially in the zones of Punjab. Such a great number of people pose immense burden of the local administration. The bureaucracy and technocracy will be able to solve the intra-provincial and intra-provincial issues of these regions only if the notion of new provinces gets materialized. Apart from provincial burden, the torrents of masses residing in the metropolitan cities of Pakistan are a threatening national challenge as well. Karachi and Lahore are facing worst effects of petrochemical smog and water pollution due to overpopulation. Faisalabad has become a hub of textile production is unable to approach national as well as international markets. It is converting the local human resource into a burden for the state. Pakistan, currently, is stuck in the quagmire of economic crisis. If the new provincial demarcation is not devised, it will further bear irreparable less in terms of economy.

Although the 18th century and 25th amendment have done a marvelous job by renaming KP and merging FATA in KP respectively, there are still a host of problems which need to be solved urgently. Firstly, the status of Gilgit-Baltistan is still unclear. Article 1 of the Constitution of 1973 does not recognize GB as a province. There is a bizarre set of rules prevalent in the region which instigates a sense of deprivation among the local population. Secondly, the Hazara ethnicity is suppressed just like the Bengalis were persecuted. In order to avert another segregation of Pakistan, it is imperative to demarcate new provincial boundaries; likewise, it can cost us the division of Pakistan.

Before embarking upon the possible models of new provinces, it is imperative to take a stock of all the national and international scenarios. This shall give a wide horizon of the issue at hand. Although the merger of FATA is a good initiative, it is not followed by the making of new provinces. It already has given hype to the debate of new provinces. In 2012, a resolution was passed in the National Assembly of Pakistan for the demarcation of new provinces; however, the resolution was not executed or passed as an amendment. Such an amendment will take Pakistan towards or bright future.

The year of 2012 was not the first year in which this debate was started; soon after the creation of Pakistan, Yahya Khan propelled One-Unit plan in 1955 after the proposal was made in 1954. This was an attempt to pacify the grievances of the Eastern wing of Pakistan. This never happened unfortunately. In 1970, the One-Unit plan was abolished, since it aggravated the already worse condition. Later on, the tussle between the civil and military powers daunted the prospects of any provincial reform. Although the legal Framework Order, in 2002, was proposed by General Musharraf, it was not a great move. It failed to decentralize powers to the grass-root level. All of these gimmicks were a ploy of the political powers to legitimate their rule. While other nations were giving autonomy to the provinces, Pakistani government curtailed the power of provinces so that it might not be overthrown.

In the 21st century, Pakistan ought to take the sarcasm of a renowned journalist seriously who said, “It is a piece of mockery that Pakistan only has 4 provincial units in spite of a population of more than 200 million”. It really is a matter of concern for nation. India also faced the same problem as it houses more than 50 ethnicity and has 1.4 million Muslim living in her. Anyhow, she was smart enough to devise a new provincial plan back in 1960’s. Not only the American federating units but also does the cantons of Switzerland serve as a role model for Pakistan. Keeping in view their demographics, these states formulated equitable new division of the provincial units. Although it might be really late, it still is possible and recommended to Pakistan that her provincial division should be revised. It ought to be done at the earliest.

The distributive models shall equally entertain all provinces. Firstly, Article 1 of Pakistan shall be revised and the deprived territory of GB should be given provincial status. It is imperative more than ever today, as CPEC passes through it. Secondly, Article 51 of the national Constitution may be revised by incorporating provincial Senates. The provinces newly made must be governed by bi-cameral legislature as it is more democratic in nature. Thirdly, the provinces shall have a truly decentralized local system of bureaucracy. The new provinces must be offered subsidies for at least one year for the establishment of new administrative systems. In this regard, Article 59 needs revision.

The principle of purity shall be observed while crafting new provinces. The guidelines of Article 239(4) should be followed which urges equitable distribution of assets between the provinces. In Punjab, Saraiki belt and Bahawalpur district may be considered to be new provincial units as they have huge population.

The plight of Hazara community and Muhajir ought to be considered while chalking out new provinces. Swat and northern areas are rife with administrative problems, they too need reforms at the earliest. For the equitable demarcation of provinces, the parliamentarians must pass a bill so that a relevant committee may be setup. The committee should comprise of technocrats, ethnic representative and research analysts. In this way, a viable solution may be yielded regarding the ‘new provinces debate’. The NFC award, CCI Water accord and other agreement of provincial importance shall also be revised while executing the draft of new provinces.

It can, then, be said that Pakistan already has paid a huge cost due to inequitable demarcation provinces. It faced several coups, economic recessions and ethnic problems. Now, it is imperative to resolve the ethno-demographic issues of Pakistan by administrative demarcation of provinces. The vested interests of political agents should be discouraged and the national interest shall prevail. Several tribes, communities and groups of ethnicity dwell in Pakistan; their rights and liberties shall be granted by taking up the ‘new provinces debate’ and ratifying it as the 32rd amendment bill of Pakistan. This shall pave the way towards a contented Pakistan by solving social, economic and political issues of the local population through the dynamic new provincial infrastructure.

The writer is a renowned political analyst and a practicing lawyer