The Case for More Provinces, A roadmap for a stronger Pakistan

“People have declared it necessary with one voice to have a new province in Sindh, the unanimity of public opinion demonstrates that a new province has become our fate.” This very statement by a political leader spurred a debate in the country for amending the constitution for creating new provinces.

Perfection can never be achieved for any piece of work. With the passage of time, there always is required some degree of revamping to accommodate the contemporary circumstances. Correspondingly, drastic transformations in society always keep on taking place and a Constitution must harbour those if it is to remain relevant for the nation. One and the only way of doing this is to introduce amendments in the text of the constitution to cater for the needs of the time. Demand for the creation of more provinces is a perfect example of the urgency of such an amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973. The demand has often been put forward by various political groups and citizens themselves but, sadly, this has not been put into affect yet, mainly due to political compulsions and status quo. Those who oppose this demand fail to realize that the formation of more administrative units would result in decentralization of power, as it would grant minorities due recognition and prevent unfair distribution of resources.

Decentralization of power is one of the many outcomes of forming more administrative units. Governments all around the world do this, one way or another, by forming local governments; thereby devolving power at grassroots level, and making the government more accountable to the governed. Just like good-quality motor oil is essential for smooth running of an engine, a local government system ensures a smooth running of the government machinery. Extensive administrative responsibilities cannot be handled by the centre alone and in order to progress socioeconomically, a country requires active participation of the citizenry. Therefore, decentralization ensures that jobs are done, and done in an efficient way. The United States, with 52 states governed by approximately 85,000 local governments and several citizen boards ensuring maximum participation of the public in policymaking, sets a perfect example in this regard. Allan Rosenbaum in his “Decentralization and Local Governance: Comparing US and Global Perspectives,” discusses about a board setup for policy and budget of a country hospital. He writes, “[T]he fifteen citizen members of this board were responsible for effectively determining and overseeing the use of a billion and a half dollars each year of county hospital-system funds. Thus, some of these citizen boards do have pretty significant consequences.” Likewise, for a developing democratic country like Pakistan, a constructive government is of prime importance and that can only be created through a system of local governments with legit authority (nothing like those made under the government of General Pervez Musharraf in 2001). These setups will help smoothen up the government machinery by adequately solving public issues and conveying their concerns to the higher-ups. When a country has several federating units, power cannot be in the hands of a few power-hungry lords; it is devolved by transferring some of the functions of the central government as well as resources to lower levels thereby validating the inverse law between administrative units and the abuse of power.

Several federating units also help to ensure that minorities of the country are recognized and they get their due share in the decision-making processes. This was the basis of the demand for the creation of Pakistan as India’s Muslim minority, fearing that they would be dominated by the Hindu majority, raised their demand for a separate state.

When a federation fails to give minorities their due rights, they may resort to a rebellion which ultimately leads to disintegration of the nation. We have often seen that the laws passed by the parliament overshadow the views of the opposing minority. Consequently, in our so-called democracy, the voice of minority goes unheard.

In a review of Farahnaz Ispahani’s new book, Malik Siraj Akbar writes:

“In her fresh book, Purifying the Land of the Pure: Pakistan’s Religious Minorities, Farahnaz Ispahani, a former member of the Pakistani parliament and a liberal intellectual, explains the deplorable conditions of minorities in her country. Ispahani, while providing a historical background of how Pakistan fell in the hands of religious extremists, argues that Pakistan’s founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a western-educated lawyer, had envisioned a modern secular country in which everyone would enjoy religious freedom. The religious lobby, she regrets, hijacked Jinnah’s Pakistan.”

(“How Pakistan Abandoned its Minorities”)

Although Siraj talks only about religious minorities, there are several other groups facing unfair treatment. Therefore, in order to prevent such uproars and to truly hail democracy, the minorities in the country should be given their separate representation. Making new provinces would grant the minorities a certain degree of autonomy whereby they would easily voice their opinions and be recognized as an integral part of the country; thus, preventing the risks of a rebellion and promoting a peaceful coexistence.

Distribution and equitable distribution of resources are two inseparable entities; the distribution of resources must be equitable, with each section of the society getting equal chances to grow and prosper. This has been aptly put by Nelson Mandela, “We must work together to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth, opportunity and power in our society.” The way resources are distributed in Pakistan is unbalanced, with a lion’s share being designated to populous and industrialized areas (notably Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and other such cities). This unequal distribution ultimately creates fissures in the society and leads to conflicts and economic instability. With the creation of more provinces, this dilemma would be solved, as not only the equitable distribution of resources will be ensured, but the desolate areas in big provinces, which are usually overshadowed by the industrialized cities, will also get their due share.

In Pakistan, resources, including revenues generated from income tax, sales tax and other sources, are distributed under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. This award is to be revised every five years with amendments trying to ensure equitable distribution of resources, yet in the 7th NFC Award, Punjab got 51.74% and Balochistan only 9.09%. Hence, this clearly shows how other regions and areas are deprived of the resources – South Punjab and Balochistan mainly at the receiving end of the aftershocks. Creation of more administrative units, however, will ensure an equitable distribution, if the units are made on the basis of population distribution.

Critics assert that Pakistan, being a developing country, is already faced with a number of crises; hunger, poverty, Kashmir dispute, war against terrorism and other economic issues, to name a few. With a bevy of problems to cope with, Pakistan is not prepared for large-scale political and administrative shift. Forming the provinces would create an imbalance in the already shaking base of the country. Radical changes in the constitution cannot be effected without a two-third majority vote in provincial legislature and the national parliament i.e. Majlis-e-Shoora. Article 239(4) of the Constitution stipulates:

“A Bill to amend the Constitution which would have the effect of altering the limits of a Province shall not be presented to the President for assent unless it has been passed by the Provincial Assembly of that Province by the votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership.”

Forming new administrative units will be a panacea to all the problems Pakistan is mired in at present. Issues like hunger and poverty could be overcome once there is an equitable distribution of resources among the newly-formed provinces, thus keeping socioeconomic conflicts at bay. Hence, by taking a single step, the country would be killing [several] birds with one stone.

In a nutshell, the idea of creating new provinces in Pakistan is not unattainable if proper steps are taken by the government keeping in view the positive outcomes. Devolving power, allowing active participation of the citizens and ensuring due representation of the minorities, everything can be achieved. It requires just another amendment, but would the government take such a bold step? Would the political parties set aside their political wrangling aside for the welfare of the state, would they think for the state giving up on their vested interest? Questions are galore but answer still not known!

Popular Demands

Punjab (Deanding Saraiki and Bahawalpur provinces)

The proponents of the Seraiki and Bahawalpur provinces expect that their provinces will get a quota in federal services. Presently, Punjab has above 50 percent quota in the federal services and most of the jobs go to the upper and central Punjab as candidates from Southern Punjab are unable to compete for these jobs. The disparity in the quality of education in these regions of Punjab is a major cause for this. Besides, there would be a cadre of provincial services for the new provinces.

KP (Demading Hazara province)

The 18th Amendment calls for control of the resources by the provinces. This offers a lot to the Hazara region as it can earn a lot through royalties on hydropower projects, dams and mineral resources it owns. But in the case of the South Punjab province, the situation is not the same due to its agro-based economy.

Sindh (Karachi/Urdu Speaking province)

As regards Sindh, the issue of dividing it into two or more provinces is very sensitive. The local Sindhi population will not accept it as they are very much emotional about their provincial boundaries.

Balochistan (Pashtun Belt)

Though the demand of separate province by Pashta speaking people of the province is not on the table, yet it could be heard in the future if new provinces were made elsewhere.

Resolution passed by the National Assembly in favour of Janoobi Punjab Province

“This House hereby resolves that in order to address the grievances and to secure the political, administrative and economic interests of the people of the Southern Region of the Province of the Punjab and to empower them in this regard, it is expedient that a new province to be known as Province of Janoobi Punjab be created from the present Province of the Punjab.

This House, thus, calls upon the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab to present a Bill in the Punjab Assembly to amend the Constitution in accordance with Article 239(4) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, for passage which would have the effect of altering the limits of Province of the Punjab, thereby creating Province of Janoobi Punjab.”

Resolution Date: May 3, 2012

By: Fatima Azhar