Rabbani opposes more provinces

Spillways of Tarbela opened for six hours to ease pressure on dam

ISLAMABAD:

 

Former Senate chairman Mian Raza Rabbani opposed the creation of more provinces in the country, saying in a statement on Monday that any tinkering with the Constitution would spell a disaster.

Rabbani, a senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), said that the suggestion for more provinces was being floated to undo the 18th Constitutional Amendment, which devolved several powers of the federal government to the provinces.

“The talk of creation of new provinces is strongly opposed on historical, linguistic and ethnic considerations,” he said. “The talk of additional provinces is being floated to roll back the 18th Amendment and the introduction of a presidential form of government.”

Rabbani said that in the past, the idea of creating provinces on administrative basis was conceived to counter the demand for provincial autonomy and the nationalist movements. To an extent, it was also implemented through the local bodies by the Musharraf regime.

“But it failed,” the former Senate chairman said. “The state must learn from the mistakes of the past and more so from the recent past,” he added.

“A tinkering with the Constitution, 1973, will spell disaster as a national census on constitutional issues particularly provincial autonomy will not be achievable, this will create political instability leading to greater economic instability.”