Politics of new provinces
Rahimullah Yusufzai ... The writer is resident editor of The News in Peshawar
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Watching the emotional debate on the creation of new provinces in and outside the parliament, one gets the impression that Pakistan has solved all its problems and its leaders are now free and relaxed to discuss this issue. A matter that could wait and needs to be dispassionately handled has been brought to the fore for narrow political gains. Self-destruction has often been the preferred path of our nation and things could go the same way if the issue was improperly tackled.
We have a prime minister who almost on a daily basis talks about the creation of a Seraiki province because he is Seraiki-speaking and belongs to Multan, the future capital of the proposed province.
Yousaf Raza Gilani is the prime minister of Pakistan but he is behaving as if he is the representative of the Seraiki people only. His son Ali Musa Gilani is contesting the Multan by-election for the vacant National Assembly seat, following the resignation of former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, he is even more passionately talking about the Seraiki province because it could fetch him some votes and help launch the career of yet another member of the Gilani dynasty.
His eldest son, Abdul Qadir Gilani, who has faced accusations of involvement in the Hajj scam, is already a lawmaker. Prime Minister Gilani’s daughter, Fiza Gilani, has also entered politics and would not have to wait long to get elected on a reserved seat for women in the assembly. His younger brother, Ahmad Mujtaba Gilani, was recently elected member of the Punjab assembly in a by-election. Pakistani politicians unable to build up a political dynasty and run parties like personal fiefdoms are considered a failure and the Gilanis don’t want to be counted among this lot.
In the past, nationalist and progressive Seraiki politicians and intellectuals with marginal support used to plead the case of a new province, but now they have been pushed into the background and the cause has been taken up by high-profile political leaders who see in it an opportunity of a life-time.
The Seraiki province may not benefit the common people of southern Punjab the way it is being claimed, but it would certainly create prized new jobs of governor, chief minister, ministers and legislators along with a provincial bureaucracy that would mostly fall into the lap of the rich and the mighty, the moneyed and feudal class as is the case elsewhere in Pakistan. Creation of districts is sometimes a necessity due to administrative reasons and certain new provinces too need to be created for the same reason, but those pushing for smaller districts and provinces should be honest enough to tell the people about the benefits and the costs of such a move.
The need for new provinces has been felt and discussed in the past as well, but the debate didn’t generate hatred even if some point-scoring did take place. This time around certain politicians first made an issue out of a non-issue and then started warning that not creating new provinces could lead to a Balochistan-like situation in the country. Rather than stabilizing Balochistan, which needs the focused attention of all concerned and in particular of the ruling elite, the talk of the emergence of a Balochistan-like situation is irresponsible to say the least.
We could learn from the experience of neighbouring India, which is far bigger with more ethnic and linguistic groups than probably any other country in the world and had inherited an administrative structure similar to that of Pakistan. In the early years after independence, India’s wise democratic leadership took steps to reorganising its states by constituting a commission and this process has continued to this day. Several new states, or provinces, were created, but not in a hurried manner despite the fact that there are numerous political parties in India and many being regional stand to benefit more by advocating new and smaller provinces.
Pakistan’s constitution has shown the way for creating new provinces. The respective provincial assemblies have to adopt a resolution with two-thirds majority to demand creation of a new province and the issue would be then taken up by the National Assembly and the Senate. The two houses of parliament would have to pass the resolution by two-thirds majority for the constitutional amendment allowing creation of a new province. Not many people in positions of power care about Pakistan’s constitution and, therefore, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), went ahead and illegally and unconstitutionally tabled the resolutions for Seraiki and Hazara provinces in the National Assembly. It is possible the MQM got a wink from its ally, the PPP, which stands to gain by putting the opposition PML-N on the defensive and also diminishing its electoral strength in its strongholds of Punjab and Hazara.
The MQM forgot to move a resolution for a separate province comprising the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and has promised to make amends and also demand a “Qabailistan” province. All those wanting their own provinces and this could include the Pashtuns in Balochistan, some people in Malakand division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Potoharis in northern Punjab and the Gilgit-Baltistan population unhappy with their present status should better approach the MQM to promote their cause as it has nothing to lose and perhaps something to gain by moving such inane resolutions in the National Assembly.
For the MQM, it doesn’t really matter that these resolutions or even a bill would be meaningless unless backed by two-thirds majority first in the respective provincial assemblies and then the upper and lower house of parliament. Those seeking narrow political objectives aren’t bothered by such technicalities as that would require painstaking lobbying to achieve consensus among the stakeholders on the issue. If the purpose was to achieve results instead of scoring political points, the issue of creating new provinces would have been raised in the Senator Raza Rabbani-led parliamentary committee that achieved consensus on constitutional amendments and resolved many contentious issues. But the purpose is not to respond to the genuine aspirations of the Seraikis and Hazarawals seeking their own provinces but to settle scores with the PML-N and the ANP.
Isn’t it strange that the MQM and the PPP, the parties that are strongest in Sindh compared to their support in other provinces, want to divide Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to create the Seraiki and Hazara provinces but are against the division of Sindh. The PPP and the Sindhi nationalists would never allow Sindh to be divided, while the MQM won’t mind this to happen eventually even if presently it is opposing creation of a new province comprising urban Sindh. By the same yardstick, most Punjabis and Pakhtuns won’t be pleased if Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were split and truncated. However, it would be wrong to force the Seraikis and Hazarawals to remain part of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against their will. In a democratic Pakistan, the view of the majority should prevail and new provinces ought to be created at the opportune time through constitutional means so that the separation is peaceful and the assets as well as the liabilities are amicably apportioned.
It is obvious that both Seraiki and Hazara provinces are being advocated on ethnic and linguistic basis even if their promoters unconvincingly claim that their move is based on administrative grounds. The Hazara province movement was triggered by the renaming of the NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because its leaders, mostly Muslim Leaguers from the now decimated PML-Q, felt Pakhtunkhwa was parochial as it excluded non-Pakhtuns or didn’t speak Pashto. The ruling ANP could have done a better job for achieving consensus on the new name of NWFP as it alienated the Hindko-speaking population of Hazara and in the end had to unnecessarily prefix Khyber to its preferred name, Pakhtunkhwa, to appease the PML-N.
The Seraiki province could become a reality ahead of other new provinces due to wide consensus on it but this would trigger bitter controversies causing political instability. Pakistan could ill-afford a situation that would divert attention from more pressing challenges such as terrorism, lawlessness, weak economy, energy shortages and unemployment.
Email:
rahimyusufzai@yahoo.com
Politics of new provinces - Rahimullah Yusufzai ... The writer is resident editor of The News in Peshawar
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At the rate that Gillani and his family is going, a Seraiki province might have a Provincial Assembly with Gillani and his relatives able to form a government all on their own.
They can call themselves:
Pakistan Peoples Party - Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Gillani Bloc
