New provinces and provincial autonomy

[Kansu]

yes i agree, smaller states can be a good solution for better administrations. but this looks like a political reform than an administration reform. pakistan needs a strong central goverment in these days. i think such a reform is possible, but it shouldnt be applied in these days.
it can seem as a far example, but please have a look at the soviet domestic policies during the gorbachov years. you notice that political reforms and administration reforms which are made before economical reforms caused the collapse of the union... i think pakistan needs a reform on education and another reform on economy...
Best regards
Kansubeg

 

[Fracker]

Smaller states are for better administration if they are done with proper research and genuine need for dispersing better administration. They might be some drawbacks like increased state expenditure, but could lead lot more positive developments.

ohh come on.. We have nazims, MPAs also representing for evry district. Main problem is not dividing the state BUT remove corruption, induce better monitoring system, making responsible to Nazim or MPA of that city there are many other things which can be done, but for that you have to improve district government. They come eatup millions and then leave, who ask them what they have done for 4/5 yrs? smaller government might improve more spending in multan and some other cities, but wont change the fate of those who are been ignored for so long.

what will they do, when population get increase, like karachi, lahore? divide them again? Thats not a solution!! Solution is better management, rather then dividing.

 

[greatsequence]

Punjab should be divided into at least three parts. It will make punjab equal to other provinces and will end central punjab's monopoly over the resources. Saraiki belt genuinely wants to be separate from the central punjab. Potohwari's also don't see themselves as Punjabi. I think it will be very good for Pakistan. I don't understand why pml-N is apposing it so strongly.

 

[Mirage2000]

on.. We have nazims, MPAs also representing for evry district. Main problem is not dividing the state BUT remove corruption, induce better monitoring system, making responsible to Nazim or MPA of that city there are many other things which can be done, but for that you have to improve district government. They come eatup millions and then leave, who ask them what they have done for 4/5 yrs? smaller government might improve more spending in multan and some other cities, but wont change the fate of those who are been ignored for so long.

what will they do, when population get increase, like karachi, lahore? divide them again? Thats not a solution!! Solution is better management, rather then dividing.

Dont just leave it to punjab,the creation of new provinces does'nt solely include Punjab.There are other units of fedration which need to be given atleast provincial status like Northern Areas and Fata.The MNA's from FATA are just not able to fully represent project problems of people living in those area's if it were a province or part of NWFP they would have been more able to resolve there problems and take decisions of there own able take thier disputes with other provinces or with center as Province.But at current position the are left to be adminstrated by Political agents who are sometime powerless against the decisions of Jirga or Tribal elders.The FATA has not seen much developement and due to poverty and loose control we now have it almost completely Talibanised.Therefore after cleaning Taliban mess making it a province would greatly help.Similar is the case with the Northern Areas,people of which too are demanding it to be made a province.
The Sindh to needs to be Divided into two Provinces the sindhi part and the Urdu speaking part should be seprated seeing the ethnic conflics between to communities in past it would somewhat prevent the clashes between them.So "Jinnahpur" Should be seprate from Sindh.
As for dividing Punjab it will lessen conflicts between the Punjab and other provinces.As adminstrative expenses its up to government to handle that,today we are massively spending on them having 50+ ministers and luxurios allowances to them we are wasting huge sum of money in this context so if gov wants it can reduce expenditure.

 

[muse]

Kansubeg


You are exactly right that Pakistan needs not just reform in the education sector but also to deliver education to more of it's citizens and you are also right about the structural reforms to the economy of Pakistan.

However; you are mistaken about the analogy you make to Gorbachev and his reforms. First Pakistan is not and has never been a captive nation, it is not a collection of different nations.

However; your analogy raises exactly the rational for a greater number of provinces, not for political reform, though Pakistan needs that, but for the earlier point, namely that Pakistan is not and must be a collection of different nations, with differing "nationalism", rather, as you suggest, a strong federal government, but one in citizens are in direct connecvtion and control of those who govern and administer, and by this I am referring to the system of local government.

A greater nuymber of provinces attenuates the opportunity to develop these negative "nationalism" that compete with the nationalsism of the Pakistani state and which seek to rob the Pakistani state and the Pakistani citizen of his or her rationale and identity as a citizen - now of course a citizen has a number of identities with relation to governance and the administrative unit, an identity as a citizen involved with local government, with tehsil or county government, with district government, etc; and ofc ourse as citizen of the nation state. In present day Pakistan, we have a problem where in the citizens of Pakistan, who live in the 4 provinces are beginning to think of themselves not as Pakistanis but as citizens of the province first, they identity themsleves as Punjabi, as Balouchi, as Sindhi and Pashtun?pakhtun, etc; this is of course a very dangerous idea, not only does it erode the identity of Pakistani citizens as citizens, it engenders a dangerous provincialism, that suites no one except the politicians; politicians ALWAYS find it easier to divide peoples when they have no ideas or when they are convinced that ideas which will take long time to deliver but are in the national interests, are not in their personal interest.

Secondly, today Pakistan fails as a state because it is unable to deliver government services to it's peoples, Pakistanis see govt services are inefficient and corrupt, even when these are delivered - smaller administrative units, can create do a better job of delivering govt services such as education, effective law and order, speedier justice and above all, development within the smaller adminstrative unit. Look to any Pakistani province and you will notice not just one insurgency but several - some of it is foreign inspired but even foreign inspired must begin with unresolved problems.

Please review some of the responses above - you will note that the Punjabi argue, why Punjab, why not Sindh or Balouchistan or Pakhtunkhwa -- and they have a point, because they see it as unfair that such division should apply to one one province, in other words, they have not been presented with a larger plan, a larger vision, as to why it is good and right - in fact they have been quite the opposite.

 

[Patriot]

Major Education Reforms are needed and books needs to revised and this needs to be put in Pakistanis minds that for them there is nothing more important then PAkistan.They're Pakistani first and then Muslims and Madrasshas needs to be closed.You see the insurgency in southern punjab is due to Madrasshas.

 

[Reddy]

Major Education Reforms are needed and books needs to revised and this needs to be put in Pakistanis minds that for them there is nothing more important then PAkistan.They're Pakistani first and then Muslims and Madrasshas needs to be closed.You see the insurgency in southern punjab is due to Madrasshas.

I always thought in islamic countries - You are a muslim first then comes the nationality - correct me if i am wrong.

Will pakistani people allow medrassah's to be closed ?

 

[MastanKhan]

Hi Reddy,

IN pakistan---pakistanis are their ethnic self first, foremost and in the last.

Islam and talk of being a muslim is just a matter of convenience as the need and desire grows.

Now there is nothing wrong in being ethnic first---just admit it and leave the hipocracy behind---once we admit to who we are, then we can take the next step of being somewhat 'muslims' in a pakistani way.

 

[EjazR]

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Demand for new provinces rejected

ISLAMABAD: The Special Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms discussed on Friday the parameters of provincial autonomy, renaming of the NWFP as Pukhtunkhwa, border demarcation between the provinces and a demand for increasing the number of federating units.

According to sources, the committee’s chairman, Mian Raza Rabbani, defended the Pakistan People’s Party’s commitment on renaming the NWFP, but deferred the matter after several members opposed it.

Senator Ishaq Dar and MNA Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-N and PML-Q’s Senator Wasim Sajjad termed Pukhtunkhwa a ‘controversial name’.

They said their parties had no objection to renaming the province, but the new name should be acceptable to the majority.

Senator Khurshid Ahmed of the Jamaat-i-Islami proposed the names ‘Afghania’ and ‘Abasin’ as a compromise.

The Awami National Party had set the renaming of the province as Pukhtunkhwa as their first condition for joining the PPP-led coalition.

The 26-member committee held a debate on issues pertaining to provincial autonomy for about four hours and decided to defer any issue on which an objection was raised, the sources said.

It reached a broad consensus on giving maximum provincial autonomy, but rejected the demand of division of formation of new provinces.

The committee decided to keep the matter of demarcation of provincial borders pending till the settlement of the provincial autonomy issue through constitutional reforms.

Former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao objected to the use of the name ‘Majlis-i-Shura’ for parliament, but the committee decided that there was no harm in using both names.

 

[Comet]

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Demand for new provinces rejected

ISLAMABAD: The Special Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms discussed on Friday the parameters of provincial autonomy, renaming of the NWFP as Pukhtunkhwa, border demarcation between the provinces and a demand for increasing the number of federating units.

According to sources, the committee’s chairman, Mian Raza Rabbani, defended the Pakistan People’s Party’s commitment on renaming the NWFP, but deferred the matter after several members opposed it.

Senator Ishaq Dar and MNA Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-N and PML-Q’s Senator Wasim Sajjad termed Pukhtunkhwa a ‘controversial name’.

They said their parties had no objection to renaming the province, but the new name should be acceptable to the majority.

Senator Khurshid Ahmed of the Jamaat-i-Islami proposed the names ‘Afghania’ and ‘Abasin’ as a compromise.

The Awami National Party had set the renaming of the province as Pukhtunkhwa as their first condition for joining the PPP-led coalition.

The 26-member committee held a debate on issues pertaining to provincial autonomy for about four hours and decided to defer any issue on which an objection was raised, the sources said.

It reached a broad consensus on giving maximum provincial autonomy, but rejected the demand of division of formation of new provinces.

The committee decided to keep the matter of demarcation of provincial borders pending till the settlement of the provincial autonomy issue through constitutional reforms.

Former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao objected to the use of the name ‘Majlis-i-Shura’ for parliament, but the committee decided that there was no harm in using both names.

I don't understand why they call it RENAMING when it is actually naming. NWFP is not a name. its not a noun.

 

[EjazR]

Can any Pakistani explain why PML-Q, N and JI consider Pakhtoonkhwa a controversial name? Why would Afghania be less controversial seeing that it resembles Afghanistan?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Can any Pakistani explain why PML-Q, N and JI consider Pakhtoonkhwa a controversial name? Why would Afghania be less controversial seeing that it resembles Afghanistan?

I believe the issue arises out of the fact that the NWFP has a significant number of non-Pashtun people as well.

So do the other provinces but their names are old and not really an issue.

Afghania is perhaps not as controversial because it does not identify with any one ethnicity, but there is the issue of being to close to Afghanistan.

Would people from Afghania be called 'Afghans'?

 

[Developereo]

I believe the issue arises out of the fact that the NWFP has a significant number of non-Pashtun people as well.

Then why not just redraw the boundaries between NWFP and Balochistan?

Group all the adjacent majority Pashtun areas and call the new province Pakhtoonkhwa?

Give the rest to Balochistan, or make another province.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Then why not just redraw the boundaries between NWFP and Balochistan?

Group all the adjacent majority Pashtun areas and call the new province Pakhtoonkhwa?

Give the rest to Balochistan, or make another province.

The Baluch nationalists are already touchy about the government developing Gwadar, can you imagine the outrage at what you suggest?

Too complicated IMO, and I think it is good that we have different ethnicites settled in every province (large numbers of Pashtun in Punjab and Sindh as well).

Sort of encourages the assimilation and integration of the various ethnicities don't you think?

Why encourage even further segregation by ethnicity.

 

[Spring Onion]

I am a pathan and from NWFP and i have no problem with our current name NWFP. majority of people here dont have any concern with the province name.

All we want development give us development which our nationalist leaders failed to give us. Anyway

The current govt has changed the name to Pukhtoonkhwa but no one other than the politician use this word for political motives we still call our province as NWFP.