Mere creation of more provinces will not resolve the issues that are faced by impoverished Pakistanis.
NORMAL, IL, US: No individual politician, especially those in control of the federal government, who are not domicile holders of Hazara or south Punjab, should be demanding new provinces. The PPP needs to understand that it is sowing the seeds for the division of Sindh as well, by pressing ahead on this matter. How can the party justify demands for the creation of new provinces in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, be it on ethnicity or administrative grounds, without the same logic being applied also to Sindh and Balochistan.
After all, Karachi has for years been subjected to a turf-war between parties divided basically on ethnic lines. Mere creation of more provinces will not resolve the issues that are faced by impoverished Pakistanis, most of whom are suffering because of poor governance. More administrative units need to be created only if they are to be administered by people with integrity, credibility and moral standards better than those who are currently in place.
While democracy is definitely better than any dictatorship — the only exception being Singapore — it can only deliver if there is a system of checks and balances.
MT Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, January 10th, 2012.
