Rallying in the National Assembly around an ardent call against the division of Sindh for creation of new provinces, lawmakers from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) faced blistering criticism on Tuesday by some of their own, for ‘mishandling’ the Karachi situation.
“Sindh will never be divided. It will stay like it is. The PPP will stand for its unity,” said MNA Gul Muhammad Jakhrani, as the entire lot of his party cheered both during and after his outburst. “Dividing Sindh means dividing Pakistan and we will not let that happen,” said Gul.
Both the ‘mood and action’ was an apparent indication of how seriously the PPP will resist an effort of carving out a new province out of its political stronghold despite the fact that it wants to divide Punjab into two federating units.
Gul’s call was also supported by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Ayaz Amir who said the logic of division on ethnic or linguistic basis did not apply to Sindh because ‘there was no such demand there’.
The day also witnessed some of the PPP’s own members finding faults with some recent overtures by the federal and Sindh governments to restore peace in Karachi after July, the deadliest month in three years.
It was MNA Nabeel Gabol from Lyari who advised his party leadership to ‘forget about the policy of reconciliation’ to bring ‘real’ peace to the city. “There is no need for a policy of reconciliation anymore … an across the board action is required in Karachi,” said Gabol, who has been at odds with his party’s top leadership for some time now.
Gabol claimed that being the elected representative from Karachi’s most troubled areas, he knew who was behind the death and destruction in the city and said the government could have controlled the situation in three days, had it wanted to do so.
“I am the MNA from Lyari. Some people might have forgotten it but I am here,” said Gabol, in an apparent remark to express anger over President Zardari’s announcement that Bilawal will contest elections from Lyari.
He then advised the political parties not to rely on guns to seek control of Karachi and trust the strength of their voters and supporters.
Another PPP member from Balochistan, Syed Nasir Ali Shah, accused the government of turning a blind eye to the killings in Balochistan and sought immediate action. Shah went on to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Gilani because his son was allegedly involved in last year’s Hajj scam and for his failure to control violence in Balochistan.
(Read: Analysis: Fiddling while Balochistan, Karachi sizzle)
Then PPP’s MNA from the tribal areas Akhundzada Chattan called upon the government to fulfill one of its years-old promises to scrap the colonial Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) law to govern the country’s tribal areas till August 14 this year. “Otherwise we, the tribesmen, will observe the next independence day as a black day,” warned Chattan.
Allies, walkouts
The Awami National Party (ANP) staged a walkout to protest what one of its leaders called a ‘midnight factory grinding’ ordinance for Sindh and Karachi.
MNA Bushra Gohar was referring to a recent decision by the PPP government to restore the local bodies’ system first for Karachi and Hyderabad and then for the whole of Sindh.
The PML-N, MQM and JUI-F staged another walkout against the recent increase in gas prices and power cuts.
Silence
The government, however, maintained total silence about an overnight public statement by top military commanders, expressing concern over violence in Karachi despite the fact that an opposition member raised the issue. “The government’s incapability gives the generals a chance to speak about what is not their domain,” said PML-N’s Ayaz Amir.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2011.
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Article 239 of the Constitution of Pakistan allows the creation of a new province through an amendment which is passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament. This vote is undertaken after a provincial assembly decides that it needs new provinces for better administration on linguistic, cultural or historical grounds. Let’s take the case of Punjab, where the Sharifs have ruled the province for several years. Rightly or wrongly, residents of the southern part of the province have felt that over the years much of the development and expenditure has taken place in central and northern parts of the province and that it has come at their expense. PML-N rather than rationally analyzing the demand of People in Sareki Belt, termed it a conspiracy against Takht-e-Lahore and launched a counter propaganda campaign to divide Sindh. Infact, the creation of new provinces is the need of hour but this division should be made in those provinces which are unable to facilitate all the population of its territory. There is not such demand of new province from Sindh which shows that there is no deprivation unlike Southern Punjab. Thus PML-N should come up with sane solution instead of terming vice of people as a conspiracy against its Takht.
@Soomro For your kind information brother - Many Memons, Agha Khanis came as mohajirs from Bombay and Gujrat to Karachi during partition. Also many Christians, mostly Portugese origin came as mohajirs to Karachi during partition. Many Parsis migrated to Pakistan too. Also many Punjabis and Pathans came as mohajirs and settled in Karachi. What a beautiful multi ethnic society Pakistan has! It deserves admiration and unity! So, who do you think a mohajir is?? No race in Pakistan reminds the migrants and founders of Pakistan as mohajirs except the Sindhis. The Karachites call themselves Karachiites and not mohajirs . . . . but nooo, some of our Sindhi brothers have to regress and remind them that they are mohajirs as if Pakistan came into existane by dropping from the blue sky without the blood shed of 50 million plus!! Why bite the hand that has been feeding Sindh?? The Karachites have provided many opportunities not only to Sindh but also to Pakistan. It is about time for Karachi and Hyderabad to propel futher with its own province and make Pakistan very proud! In the end everyone is a Pakistani.
I see no issues in the division of any province.. A province is only an administrative unit.. The smaller the unit the better the administration, I woulod say
@all: Karachi is not developed by the migrants but it developed by the Memons, Kathiwarires, Parsis and some others. They all the origin tribes of Sindh and lived in Karachi before partition. As well as Pakistan is concerned I am also Patriot Pakistani and love to Pakistan. But all immigrants should have to merge in Origin tribes of that area like in Punjab and KP. If you are in Canada you should have to speak and learn English not the Urdu. My children are studying in Urdu so we have lot of respect for Urdu and its rich literature and culture but all immigrants are hatred with Sindhi. Sindh's division is not possible on ethnic basis Because Sindhi are in majority in Hyderabad and in Karachi Sindhi's, Pakhtoons, Punjabi's and others have a lot of presence , so put this idea out from mind and try to indulge in Sindhi's, Participate in Sindhi cultural activities an try to settle in villages, get agriculture forms there and respect all ethnic culture and languages. we have a open and warm welcome with heart and inner intuition.
@Soomro: Division of Sindh is beneficial for Sindhis. Karachi and Hyderabad should be a separate province due to administrative reason. Karachi has no single ethnic group, its diverse and that's the reason of progress. A Sindhi chief minister never goes to interior Sindh nor does he care about developing it. All officials are found in Karachi but poor Sindhis have nobody to take care of them!
@Soomro: Only in Sindh the mohajirs are still mohajirs, because sindh keeps reminding them that they're guests and sindh is providing them shelter, in no other province, especially punjab are mohajirs still called mohajirs.
This biased treatment meted out by Sindh has alienated the mohajirs, and now we seek a separate province out of Karachi and Hyderabad. After all we developed it, and no Sindhi wins from either regions.
@Realist.:
Well said. that is exactly the reason nawaz Sharif has agreed to the commission for creation of new provinces.
Will Pashtuns, Punjabis, Baluchs and Sindhis be able to live and work in Karachi if MQM is given the Southern Sindh province or Jinnahpur? Do not forget the fascist politics of MQM.
@Soomro. I agree with your thoughts. Urdu speaking have to intergrate into Sindh and not seek their seperate province. Sindh has had a long history of giving shelter to refugees. Most well to do Sindhis often trace back their origin to Balochs, Arabs, Punjabis etc. It took time for them to integrate and I am sure they were not repeated reminded of being outsiders. . . . .As for the Karachi problem, it is a fact that people of various origins live here and it is a commercial hub. This city and its surroundings can easily be treated how Islamabad is treated. If Islamabad can be treated as a Federal Capital Area, Karachi and its industrial surroundings including Port Qasim and Lasbela Hub area should be treated as a Commercial Capital Area with its own civic system.
@Soomro , my ancestors migrated to Pakistan , NOT into Sindh .So do away with the notion that we are old or new Sindhi , we are just Pakistani .
It is Paksitan or bust .
We are sick of thie rheoric that Sindhis provided us asylum !!! .
It is vice vera , we develeoped Karachi and now you are seeking assylum into it .
@Soomro - Like it or not, Karachi and Hyderabad will become a seperate province for good governance. It can no longer be pulled back by the backward thinking of interior Sindh. Karachites have worked hard to give this city a great momentum and prosperity with their innovative thinking - they have a different mindset than interior Sindh and they believe in fast paced development. Karachi and Hyderabad have unique personality - they are striving for development, progress and education and not historic stagnation like interior Sindh. Karachiites are hardworking loyal Pakistanis who respect and honor the sacrifices made to achieve Pakistan, they believe in national prosperity and having a seperate Province will be good for Karachi and Hyderabad and as a result, the whole of Pakistan. All ethnicities have equal opportunities to contribute and prosper. Karachi has welcomed them all to enjoy the fruits of prosperity.
Sindh could not be divided on ethnic basis because Mujahar is not an entity. if they are still Mujahar then they should go back to their ancestors land. Suppose some Pakistanis are settled in UK or USA in Lakhs there, they have nationalities but they they are not allowed to have their own province. We believe that they are Urdu speaking Sindhi and sons of Sindh if some one say that he is still Mujahar and came here for protection for some time then he should have to go back now after 63 years of safe protection or search another land for this purpose.
@Mujeeb Athangal: Sindh belongs to all Pakistani's. Historically, Karachi however belongs to the baloch's and demographically belongs to the mohajirs. We are a separate entity, we are not Sindhi's first or last, we're Pakistani's. Sindh will be divided, its inevitable.
@Realist.: Appreciate your comments. Indeed very reasonable. I say even if Sindhis or Balochis dont agree to divide their province, we must. 10 years or 20 years from now, they will themselves be asking to make new provinces out of Sindh or balochistan. At present, they are looking through tunnel vision and do not want to let go their quota in JOBS etc. So let them face the reality themselves. As far as Punjab is concerned, nothing will happen to us. Rather, as you mentioned, we will get more say in national affairs.
Punjab should be devided. Saraiki should get province status.
Sindh cannot be divided because it only belongs to Sindhi people.
@realist.
Not only that, Punjab will also benefit if the un-developed Seraiki belt is separated from the highly industrialized North Punjab, this means the future Punjab will have a very high literacy rate, more income per GDP, and less area to spend on, i think Punjab will propel at a pace faster than all other provinces combined if it is divided.
@dr samreen:
Dear Dr. Dr. Dr. again Dr. - Samreen do you know how many Sindhis were living before Karachi was inhabited by Muhajirs? The people from interior Sindh came here to work after it has become a metropolitan city. For your kind information Original inhabitants of Karachi were Balochis... so in this way Baluchis can also say "We have not invited Sindhis or Muhajirs."
@Frank: Please keep you Historica Facts straight... Historic land of Punjab was first divided in 1947. So the recent Punjab has a history which began from that period. Don't be sarcastic with historic motivations. You are living in Pakistan not in Harrapa or Mohenjodaro anymore.
@Mohammad naeem: Then why entire Sindh is paying less Taxes??? and why is it not paying its Electricity bills. there should be equal amount of Taxes to be collected from entire province, why citizens of Karachi are bearing it all alone?
@babar: To add one important things, People in Karachi pay more taxes than any other citizen in the entire country. If Karachi remains under Sindh administration then there should be equal judgement over Taxes also.
@dr samreen
I don't get the point why 'Son of Soils' have to move to Karachi to begin with? Why these so-called 'Son of soil' do something for their own cities and stay there instead of coming to Karachi and mis using its resources. All these 'son of soil' who have done nothing for Karachi will immediately jump onto "Karachi sab ka hai" bandwagon if any situation arises in Karachi. When it comes to take, loot, mis use resources of Karachi, these 'son of soil' will be on front line but when it comes to give something back then there will be that popular slogan that 'its the responsibility of MQM' to do for Karachi as they win from here. OK, if they win from here then for God sake give them administration and let the city run as majority like.
I think Karachi+Hyderabad should be a seperate province which will be better governed than these waderas and I am sure that will bring more prosperity to Pakistan.
@dr Samreen - think about developing interior Sindh and not living off the back of Karachi. Interior Sindh can preserve its historic characteristic and life style . . . .but please do not impose it upon the forward thinking entreprenuers of Karachi who have different mindset that promotes development and feels responsible about the socio-economic well being. Karachi and Hyderabad cannot be run and dictated by any one, except by the themselves.
So..."This" happens when you have narrow minded, non-visionary, incompetent and seeking-their-own-advantage-only people sitting in you supreme national institutions...like parliament. This is where the thing which is usually called "democracy" in Pakistan....actually fails!.....they call themselves as representative of people of Pakistan.....they merely know or care about the public opinion or don't even have the capacity to make such decision seeking a broad level advantage for the state.....
@dr samreen: First of all muhajirs are 21.1% of Sindh, secondly, mohajirs didn't need Sindhs invitation, we didnt come to sindh, we came to pakistan and have the right to live where ever we want. Muhajirs also migrated to Punjab and KP and Balochistan, but we never hear from all the other three provinces, its only Sindh that tends to remind us that we're here as guests, NO we are not guests, this is Pakistan, it belongs to all of us, and Pakistan is not Sindh.
We dont need Sindh's permission, and this is not a holy land which can never be divided, it will be divided, after all Sindh has been the first to demand more provinces, why back out of it now when everyone has his eyes on Sindh?
all these grown up men behaving like children who elected these fools? they want to destry the country just for the sake of getting a seat of power in some broken off piece of the country. all of them are nothing but drama queens. i repeat DRAMA QUEENS:
@dr samreen: As a doctor would you prefer to work in interior sind or karachi?
Ethnic bickering is counter productive. Karachi is about talents and skills! Rightfully, Karachi and Hyderabad must become a seperate Province for the sake of moving forward economically, for the sake of good governance and administration and for the sake of serving the 18 million people of Karachi with a infrastructure that sustains them with a healthy economy. Karachi is unique in its characteristics from rest of the interior Sindh and its socio economic needs for sustaining development. Therefore as a developing country and a reponsible democracy it definately deserves to be be a seperate Province - this is the overwhelming wish of the majority of the people living, working and contributing to Karachi's economic engine. Every one has an equal opportunity with their skills and talents to participate in Karachi. Karachi rewards those who contribute towards its development and economic well being. As a nation, we should think about its progress and stop the bickering among the ignorant masses that do not contribute to the progress and advancement of Karachi. In all fairness, Karachi cannot be held back any more by the ignorant mob who are harmfully looking backwards and not moving forward.
@dr samreen: Can the "son of soils" do anything better than moving to Karachi? Why don't they develop other cities where they are in clear majority? It is quiet clear that they are incapable of doing so and just want to rely on the income generated by Karachiites. Why do Sindhis need special treatment like "quota system" instead of merit? Double standards also shown here what is good for Punjab is not good for Sindh. The real reason is Sindhis are prisoners of waderas!
historicaly sindh has been a country,sindhis are majority in province,its like pakistanis going to london andin some area they are in majority they should have new pak in england,we never invited muhajirs to come,muajirs are mere 19 percent of sindh population and they are getting more share,while in karachi urdu speakers are 48 percent according to 1998 census,that situation has changed as lot of son of soils have moved to karachi in last decade.
@Frank:
Punjab has already been divided once and so has Sindh (although India only has a small slice of it).
The fact Karachi has become too large and highly populated - it is now neccessary to become a province along with Hyderabad for the sake of good governance and administration otherwise it will jeopardise its progress and deveopment. Look at the population of Karachi alone . . . .about 18 million . . It is about time and it is way past due that Karachi should have been a Province long time ago. Any one who tries to hold it back must be unpatriotic. Karachi is choking with its businesses and population and it needs to be made a seperate Province absolutely so it can breathe and have good governance and good adminstration to support its infrastructure and its population and prevent it from it turning into shambles. All this is common sense people!!
What the PPP leadership wants to convey is that "Sindh Khappay", but Punjab and Pakhtunkhwa na khappay.
Certainly ppp is showing incompetence and almost all our sindhi leadrs hav let us down regarding dvlopmnt and promotion of education but we stil had leaders like benazir bhutto who rpresentd pakistans soft image all ovr world along wid our sindhi identity.so u cant undrestimate sindhi ppl!
@realist. Sindhis are not geting violent in thr protest. Plz corct urself they r marching peacefuly. @babar. Karachi is dvloped and hub of economic actvity being a port city. Why do u wish its sepration against the wishes of majority sindhis and other nations including pathans and baluchs.
@ayaz. Punjabs dvision is necesary 4 the sack of unity of pakistan bcoz its monopoly ovr countrys affairs is risking the small fedrating units from the vry begining!
@amar
Where is the proof of Indian involvement in Karachi violence? Conspiracy theory?
Oh please come out of stone age, accept reality and divide all provinces in to 3 for sole administrative reasons. Parties opposing this idea will soon die out. Its all about presenting case in proper manner.
No one has the right to divide these ancient lands of Sindh and Punjab, though I agree Southern Punjab is exploited by Lahore (but only Lahore, mind you). The solution is to move the capital of Punjab to a more central location like Jhang Sial.
Resolution of all issues are linked to devolution and creating further provincial units. It is inevitable for Karachi/Hyderabad to become a province. Feudals will resist it but for how long..
All the politicians of my country agree on one point that it is imperative to make new provinces for better and effective administration. But one party says that divide the entire pakistan into provinces save My Punjab, the other says my Sindh, the third says my K-Pk.Is not it a double standerd?
I am totally convinced, after reading this argument, that not only South Punjab but in fact Sindh should also be divided. Sorry PPP, no Sindh = No Seraiki province.
At present there is no demand of division of Sindh Province on any basis then why people of other provinces want to divide Sindh? What is their interest except creating confusions amongst dwellers of Sindh and to take revenge for their own Divisioning. They should realise that demand for dividing KP and Punjab is from inside and from their own people and not from Sindh. Kindly be realistic.
Certainly ppp is showing incompetence and almost all our sindhi leadrs hav let us down regarding dvlopmnt and promotion of education but we stil had leaders like benazir bhutto who rpresentd pakistans soft image all ovr world along wid our sindhi identity.so u cant undrestimate sindhi ppl!
@realist. Sindhis are not geting violent in thr protest. Plz corct urself they r marching peacefuly.
@babar. Karachi is dvloped and hub of economic actvity being a port city. Why do u wish its sepration against the wishes of majority sindhis and other nations including pathans and baluchs.
@ayaz. Punjabs dvision is necesary 4 the sack of unity of pakistan bcoz its monopoly ovr countrys affairs is risking the small fedrating units from the vry begining!sentd pakistans soft image all ovr world along wid our sindhi identity.so u cant undrestimate sindhi ppl!
@realist. Sindhis are not geting violent in thr protest. Plz corct urself they r marching peacefuly.
@babar. Karachi is dvloped and hub of economic actvity being a port city. Why do u wish its sepration against the wishes of majority sindhis and other nations including pathans and baluchs.
@ayaz. Punjabs dvision is necesary 4 the sack of unity of pakistan bcoz its monopoly ovr countrys affairs is risking the small fedrating units from the vry begining!
Why would PPP and the Super filthy rich demi-god of Interior Sindh's LandBarons ofwould let go of Karachi ?
The logic is right if Punjab can be divided , so can Sindh .
Nawaz Sharif and Punjabi nationlasits should link the divison of Punjab with the divison of Sindh .
THere will be atleast two provinces (maybe even three) in place of Sindh maximum by 2014 and atleast eight to ten all over Pakistan. Thats the erality so lets face it.
Why always only Punjabis act as Pakistani why other provinces give weight to their province over Pakistan?
The above parliment session has proved that Sindhis are just son of Sindh they dont want to serve Pakistan!!!!! SHAME!!!
India wants to divide Pakistan and doing all efforts like blood shed in Karachi, But I wonder why every one is keeping quiet against India. Why Sind keep quiet on building Indian dams on Pakistani Rivers, and why they keep shouting if some one will talk on Kala Bagh Dam.
In addition Sind dont pay Electricity Bills, that results in load shedding. This is the major cause of Economic Crisis in Pakistan. Off course India control sind.
Karachi and Hyderabad are the leaders and pioneers of prosperity due to their enterprenueral leadership, skills and spirit and being ahead in education and developlement. As a result Karachi turned into an economic hub for the benefit of entire Pakistan. Karachi and Hyderabad as a seperate province will flourish and should keep on flying high with the hard work of its people making dynamic progress. Others can use them as a model. This city of Quaid is an economic pride of Pakistan and inshallah will continue to lift its metropolitan business image for the benefit of all Pakistanis and with their cooperation. Not forgetting the reality that without security nothing is possible.
The decisions in the givernment are made by non elected members like Babar Awan and Rehman Malik, both involved in corruption. No elected member of ppp is suggesting division of Punjab as they know that this demand will spread to Sindh and other provinces
Let me get this straight, dividing Sindh means dividing Pakistan, and dividing Punjab means saving Pakistan. After this, What moral ground does PPP have to ask people to vote for it in Punjab? I'm ok with more provinces in Punjab on administrative basic, but never under the leadership of this corrupt PPP government and leadership. In fact I think PPP is an anti-punjabi party, it deliberately wants to bring chaos to Punjab, similar to what's happening in Karachi. One would have to an idiot to vote for this corrupt and ridiculous party called PPP.
If Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab can be divided for administrative reasons, why not apply the same logic and divide Sind and Baluchistan for the same reasons? Obviously the people who are calling for more provinces don't understand that they are inviting more problems. At the end all they will do is create more layers of government administration and bureaucracy. They want to divide Punjab which is already the best governed and managed, would it not help to divide the more poorly managed provinces?
Issuing statements like "Dividing Sindh means dividing Pakistan and we will not let that happen" just shows the sincerity of these chors.
I do not understand PPP's double standard ideology; at one end they are compelling the parliament to divide Punjab and on the other hand thei party members says “Dividing Sindh means dividing Pakistan and we will not let that happen,”. If they have to form a new province why not a new province can be formed out of Sindh. Why making a new province out of Sindh is equal to dividing Pakistan? Whereas, after the formation of Pakistan in reality the politically dominant western wing was composed of three Governor's provinces (North-West Frontier, West-Punjab and Sindh Province), one Chief Commissioner's province (Baluchistan Province), the Baluchistan States Union, several other princely states (notably Bahawalpur, Chitral, Dir, Hunza, Khairpur and Swat), the Federal Capital Territory (around Karachi) and the tribal areas.
“Dividing Sindh means dividing Pakistan and we will not let that happen,”
Why is the division of Sindh the division of Pakistan, and the division of Punjab, KP, Balochistan, important for 'good' governance and right of other ethnic minorties?
Sindh perhaps is the most badly governed currently given the situation in Karachi, and don't forget about the right of mohajirs to get a separate province, Karachi and Hyderabad should be separated from Sindh.
Division of provinces should be across the board, not selective.
How come the division of sindh is division of Pakistan and the division of Punjab, KP, Balochistan is for good governance?
Sindh should also be divided just like all other provinces, sindh is not dharti maa, Pakistan is the only dharti maa.
Mohajirs deserve a separate province from sindh, karachi and hyderabad should be a different province.
The government's tactic of "dividing" Punjab is merely political, since it knows its really very hard for PPP to gain votes from the province. “The government’s incapability gives the generals a chance to speak about what is not their domain,” i agree to the first statement of Ayaz Amir, but "not in their domain"? i doubt that, since its a security issue, and military is responsible for it one way or the other.
Punjab is smart enough to move ahead with provinces. Why would Karachi and Hyderabad not move forward with the familiar LG system? In fact they should have been a province of their own in order to be more progressive and an economically strong leg for Pakistan. If people cannot handle progress and change and prefer to stay stagnant . . . . .it is sadly quite pathetic.
Mere Sloganeering is going to take this nation no where and the way current politics is being run by all these party doesn't even give you hope for any improvement in future too.
I don't get the logic of violence/bloodshed in division of sindh ? Why NOT sindh & why only Punjab ? Because Sindhi will go violent if Sindh is divided on administrative basis ? Thats Quite a LAME argument. On the other hand PPP is avoiding the voices of its own party members ? & why is it that ONLY & ONLY PML-N who speaks against Military's Intervention in Politics ? Why can't other parties condemn it ? why dont they have courage?
PPP has been a complete failure for this country in almost 4 years of its government. I would not mind a little corruption if they prove their competence to handle situations & present right policies What saddens me is their high level corruption along with high level Incompetence.