Electoral Promises

Following a lot of huffing and puffing in Punjab Assembly, everybody settled for what carried the appearance of a balanced resolution. In my view, it will be best interpretation of the unanimous resolution on the Seraiki and Bahawalpur provinces.

It seems that the ongoing chest-thumping will be ended after passage of the resolution. Both the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have shown consent, the latter agreeing to Southern Punjab while the former to the Bahawalpur Province.

The two major parties in the parliament have realized that an announcement of agreement was sufficient for the time being while the practical steps of the demand could be delayed for sometimes.

The resolution offered a win-win solution to the PPP and PML-N as they can tell their voters in South Punjab and Bahawalpur that they are interested to the popular desire.

To create a new federating unit is far more complicated issue than renaming an old one. The ruling PPP seems to have understand little from the agitation, violence, shootings and the continuing animosities as a result of the rechristening of the old NWFP (North Western Frontier Province).

The matter is not that the new federating units are not need of the hour but his has to be done after sufficient preparation which has been ignored on account of short-term political pinches.

Before creation of the Seraiki and Bahawalpur provinces, many issues will have to be settled out including the boundaries of the new federal entities.

We will have to find out the answers of these questions. What will be the fate of the districts with mixed populations? Where will be D.I. Khan will go, which is centre of the Seraiki movement?

Both the old and new provinces will have to decide the principle of water sharing, as they will be dependent on the same river system.

A commission to thrash out the matter will be need of the hour. The commission will also take up other related issues including the demand for Hazara province and Qabailistan province demanded by the FATA parliamentarians.

New provinces should be created in a way that this unites rather than divides the people of Pakistan.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on May 11 2012. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.