We are hearing new slogans from old faces in the political theatre of Pakistan that they will build

new Pakistan. They are playing with the emotions of common Pakistani by chanting these slogans of new Pakistan in their public meetings.Yes, we need something new to save the falling pillars of Pakistan first and then to chalk out a new ideology and strategy to build that new Pakistan. These slogans can change the faces of the ones in ruling junta but they cannot bring any change in the existing system of Pakistan. All the intelligentsia of Pakistan agree on one point that we cannot just lay back and wait for some miracle to happen as the condition is so critical that existence of Pakistanis at stake. The issue of bad governance always come first and in the lime light when we have discussions in the TV talk shows or at the tea stalls. We did not understand and learn one simple phenomenon from our history that the hearts and minds of the people cannot be controlled by sitting in Islamabad. This arrogance, style of governance and stupidity of our ruling junta created major differences among different sections of Pakistan. Since they had no direct connection with the Pakistani people so the meaning of democracy for our governments were to just rule on Pakistan, where as it should be to distribute the resources, wealth and opportunities to cities, towns and villages of Pakistan without any discrimination. The result was the freedom of East Pakistan and similar voices heard from Sindh, KPK and Baluchistan. The other most important thing creating rift in our society is that basic rights of common Pakistani were neglected from day one. The very vital departments of employment, education, health, basic infrastructure and economic growth were controlled by the corrupt politicians and establishment and merit was thrown out from the corridors of power. We should have learned lesson from our so called strategic partner USA, our brother China and our enemy India that empowerment at the local level is the key for the survival of super powers and world economies. Its always better to listen to the voice and demands of the masses before its too late. The idea of empowerment at the local level was really successful and has delivered at the door steps of karachiites during the tenure of Mayor Kamal. East Pakistan was just demanding the provincial autonomy and control on their resources in 1971 and we are hearing the same kind of voices from Sindh, southern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa and Balochistan in the last 25 years. This is the best time for an open debate on this important issue related to the survival of Pakistan and if we opt to create more provinces in Pakistan then that will open the doors of peace, progress and economic growth for Pakistan. The creation of new provinces would address the root causes of socio-economic problems and strengthen the state of Pakistan. There are serious grievances and concerns in Saraiki, Hazarewal, Balochi and Urdu speaking communities that they are not getting their due share and role in Pakistan and they have been alienated and isolated since the creation ofPakistan. The demand to create new provinces on administrative basis is really genuine and should not be considered as antistate by the Pakistani establishment. In my opinion, this demand shows that these communities and their leaders are very patriotic with the country and they want their rights within the geographical boundaries ofPakistan. I watched this news today that the parliamentarians of MQM has tabled the resolution for Saraiki and Hazara provinces and I must say that other political forces should support this Saviour of Pakistan resolution.

New provinces will break Pakistan

The 1973 Constitution is the only consensus document binding the federation. It neither recognises nor foresees the further division of Pakistan into more provinces. The manifestos of the PPP and its ally, the Q League, make no reference to new provinces. Thus, the call for more provinces is nothing but reckless desperation of a morally bankrupt political leadership which sees defeat written large in the next election. The Q League, which is in the process of rapid evaporation, is the mostvociferous proponent of more provinces. Chaudhry Shujaat and Pervez Elahi have the most to lose come elections and are therefore eager incendiaries demanding a division of Punjab. In the week leading to Pakistans independence day, the PML-Q introduced a proposal in the Punjab Assembly for breaking Punjab and creating a Seraiki province. The PPP, whose new poster boys were never seen in Benazir Bhuttos lifetime, is equally passionate about new provinces, at least in Punjab. President Zardaris trusted

troubleshooter, Dr Babar Awan, claims that the Seraiki province cannot be suppressed any longer. As if this was a long-standing promise of the PPP. It is obvious that the PPP high command feels there is no national slogan which is capable of garnering votes in the next election, and its only option will be to pit the people of Punjab against each other. For those who want a Balkanised Pakistan, a Seraiki province is not enough in Punjab. Mohammad Ali Durrani, General Musharrafs information minister, is hoping to come out of the political wildernessby leading the battle for a Bahawalpur province. Durranis vision is to restore the former nawab of Bhawalpurs scion to the lost glory of the British Raj. Another notable supporter of a Bahawalpur province is Izajul Haq, who leads his own one-man faction of PML (Ziaul Haq). In what is developing into a rapid free for all, Dr Nazir Bhatti of the Pakistan Christian Congress is demanding the formation of a Christian province in southwest Punjab. On the other hand, a JUI MPA from Mianwali rejects the proposal for a Seraiki province and has demanded a Thal province where people of his constituency can be free, according to him, from the lords of Multan. The temperatures are slowly rising. In the last parliamentary session of the Punjab Assembly, the proponents of Seraiki vs Thal provinces traded insultsand abuses and had to be physically restrained from attacking each other. The danger of lighting a fire in Punjab is that it can engulf the entire country. The demand for a Hazara province to be carved out of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has now been renewed. Dozens were killed in rioting leading up to a mere change of name from NWFP to KhyberPakhtunkhwa. Imagine the bloodletting which will welcome the partition of a province. And with every drop of blood wasted in the name of division of provinces, it is the federation of Pakistan which will suffer irreparable harm. For MQM supporters, the demand for Karachi and Hyderabad as a separate province is literally the writing on the wall and the restoration of the city district governments is considered its foundation. However, Sindhi nationalists promise that their province will only be divided over their dead bodies. There is already no dearth of violence in Karachi and we cannot afford more bloodletting. Stoking the fires of division in far away Punjab merely to cut the Sharifs down to size is likely to not only destroy PPPs traditional vote bank in Sindh, but threaten Pakistan as we know it.

New provinces

Recently, the debate over the creation of new provinces has steamed up. Various political parties have supported the idea of new provinces and the MQM has even tabled a resolution in the parliament for the creation of the Hazara and Seraiki provinces. But before we jump into political point scoring on the issue, we need to understand a few things. New provinces are created for various reasons. Primary among them is the administrative reason that a province has become so large, in terms of population, that adequate provision of public services to the people is not possible without carving out smaller units. However, in reality, political considerations often overshadow the reasonable administrative and welfare reasons and create further complications. In our current debate over new provinces, let us remember that the creation of newer units obviously has a political dimension but the primary consideration must be the welfare of the people.

The current debate centres around two regions: the Seraiki area in southern Punjab and the Haraza region on the Frontier. The main impetus behind these movements is that of language. The Hazarewal speak Hindko and are mostly non-Pakhtun, while southern Punjab speaks Seraiki. Aside from these linguistic differences, we need to recall how both these areas became a part of their current provinces. The history of the Hazara region is peculiar in that it has changed hands several times in the last few hundred years. From being a tribal-run society, it became a part of the Sikh empire in the early 19thcentury, followed by British rule, after a brief interlude of Kashmiri Dogra rule. Thereafter, in 1901, it became a part of the now-defunct North West Frontier Province which was composed of the five non-Punjabi frontier districts of Punjab. It is important to remember here that the main impetus for creating this new province was not the separation of non-Punajabis from the majority community, but to ensure a firm hand on the Frontier during the Great Game syndrome. Therefore, little attention was given to the fact that different ethnicities and languages were being mixed in the new province. Tight government control and the disputes with Afghanistan over the Durand Line meant that there was little room for renegotiation of boundaries in the region in later years. The Seraiki belt is also an interesting region, since it is actually composed of two different areas. The Multan division which was once a great province under the Mughals, forms one part of it, while the second part consists of the erstwhile princely state of Bahawalpur. The region of Multan was only brought under Punjabi control under the Sikh empire, while Bahawalpur remained a princely state throughout Sikh and British rule. As a matter of fact, after Bahawalpur acceded to Pakistan, it was given full provincial status, at par with the other former British India provinces, in 1953. It is also a historical fact that Bahawalpur merged with the West Pakistan province in 1955, and not with Punjab. It was only in 1969 with the dissolution of the One Unit that Bahawalpur was unceremoniously merged with Punjab (just as Khairpur which also had provincial status was merged with Sindh). Before Bahawalpur was merged in the One Unit, it had an exemplary record as a constitutional monarchy in welfare provision for its people. The state had an excellent free education system, good hospitals, an ever-expanding road network and a booming industrial sector. The merger of this princely state with West Pakistan and later Punjab, stunted development in the area and created tensions which are now precipitating calls for a division of Punjab. With the history of these two regions in mind, it is no wonder that support for these two areas attaining provincial status is strong. There is no reason why the Hazarewals need to stay in a province which now clearly identifies with an ethnicity and language they do not share and the Seraiki people, especially in the Bahawalpur region, have a right to reclaim their old status as a province in Pakistan. However, what must be remembered is that any new provinces should be self-sustaining and not dependent on the central government for development, or else the mere replication of provincial structures further will do little to alleviate the sufferings of the people.