The Pakistan federal government in principle has decided to increase number of the existing powers. **According to Radio Tehran, the largest province Punjab will be divided into three parts, Potohar, Southern Punjab and Central Punjab. Sindh will also be divided into three units. Similarly, NWFP will be divided into two units, Bolan and Balochistan. It is also learnt that Gwadar to Makran Coastal Belt, declaring as free port will also be made a separate administrative unit. **Meanwhile, the federal government while maintaining its superiority will lead the Federation whereas the elected assemblies of the ten provinces will choose the Chief Ministers. It is worth mentioning that different political parties and small regional parties in particular have been demanding to make new provinces.
This would be a good step forward. Even though it will yet again create antities like NEFP kind of stuff, or even worse take huge amounts of money just to establish regional administrations doing the same old business. But again might be good to decentralize the power structure in pakistan.
I agree with minime to a certain extent, decentralizations and atleast an effort re-bring democratic instituions not the nawaz bhutto nonsense) could have positive effects.
In the last couple of years the government did put foward a proposal to significantly reduce or abolish the concurrent legislative list, and I believe that at the minimum that would accompany a proposal to divide the existing provinces into ten units. President Musharraf's re-opening of the whole renaming the NWFP debate might also be a calculated move in the direction of creating new provinces?
This seemed to be absolute stupid step. Conquering own small provinces by a dictator and dividing them in to more parts. Who has given him authority to do that? Let the people of Sindh, NWFP and Baluchistan decide what they want to do? Quaid-e-Azam would have joined Nehru's Congress rather than founding a new country, had he known what would happen to his Pakistan after his death.
The Daily Times of Pakistan is reporting the story.
‘Pakistan govt decides to make new provinces’
TEHRAN: The government has decided in principle to increase the number of provinces in Pakistan to 10, Radio Tehran reported. Punjab, the largest province, will be divided into three parts: Potohar, Southern Punjab and Central Punjab. Sindh will also be divided into three units. NWFP will be divided into two units, according to the report. Radio Tehran said the costal belt from Gwadar to Makran would also be made a separate administrative unit. The federal government will lead the federation and the elected assemblies of the ten provinces will choose the chief ministers. Various political and regional parties have long demanded new provinces in Pakistan.
Good job. Now instead of FOUR Governors and Chief Ministers and Cabinets wasting public monies on lavish spending, now we'll have TEN Governors, Chief Ministers and Cabinets contributing to ruining our public funds. Progress all over! Pakistan zinda bad!!!
why? Already they cant manage 4 units - what makes you think they can do a good job at managing 10 units? We'll become like India- state elections all round the year.. and lot og corruption.. this would mean more elections, more politicians and corruption. What else can you expect from mushy boy. If they want, they can divide Sindh into 2 parts- One for Sindhis and call it Sindh and one for Urdu-speaking Mohajirs and call it urdustan or something- they can settle Bihari Muslims from Bangladesh there by shifting Sindhis from South to the new state up north. Similarily Balochistan can be divided into Pathan Balochistan or merged with NWFP and south baclohistan including gwadar for Balochs.
Seraiki is very similar to Punjabi- its only a few people who claim to be Seraiki nationalist and create trouble from time to time.. Similarily Hindko speakes are in very small number... But dividing Sindh into two seems like a solution to Mohajir problem and since we should also settle Bihari Muslims from Bangladesh slowly in Sindh, you might want a separate Urdu State..
Historic Punjab is already divided into two - in India and Pakistan. That has not made Punjabi's less Punjabi than they were before, so why would three political units in the same country make them so?
^ We Punjabis already got truncated Punjab- Gurdaspur, Ferozepur etc. were taken away from us. Initial plan in 1946 was to give entire Punjab to Pakistan and shift the Sikh and Hindoo population somwhere else. But that was painful.. now we dont want to truncate punjab again and encourage various movements like seraiki etc.
we have started discussing without finding out about the truth! first do that then we can discuss pros and cons.
I think there is no harm in deviding provinces for administrative purposes. as long as I will still be called as Punjabi I dont mind although loosing much area for Punjab will Punj Aab name still be valid? will it be land of five rivers???
mulz, I don't know how much of what you have stated is fact, especially the part about shifting Sikhs and Hindu's out of east Punjab, but I believe that it would make much more sense from an adminsitrative point to have smaller provinces carver out of not only Punjab but the other provinces as well.
Not sure, but I don't think there is any example in the world where a federal-based state has one unit that comprises more than a majority of the overall population, as Punjab does in Pakistan's federation. Punjab represents 90 million (or 56%) of Pakistan's total 160 million population. But if Punjab is subdivided into three smaller units the largest province in the new setup would be 'Central Punjab' with a population of 60 million i.e. 37% of Pakistan's population, similar to Ontario province in Canada.