Saraiki activists call for separate province

Stage rally against discrimination, unemployment

ISLAMABAD:

With general elections just around the corner, Saraiki activists and students organised a rally for the recognition of Saraiki's national identity and the establishment of a separate Saraiki province on Friday.

Activists demanded a separate province to get rid of deprivation, marginality, and discriminatory treatment being meted out to Saraiki-speaking people for the last 76 years and to make Pakistan a balanced federation.

The rally, which started at Melody Market, G-6 Markaz, and culminated at D-Chowk, was jointly organised by Saraiki Student Alliance (SSA) and Saraiki Suba Sang Committee (SSSC).

The demonstrators were carrying placards inscribed with slogans in Siraiki language which said ‘maikoon aakh na punj-daryaiee’ (don’t call me Punjabi), ‘assaan qaidee takht Lahore dey’ (we are the prisoners of Lahore throne), and ‘jhokaan theesen aabad wal’ (prosperity will come to our land again).

During the rally, SSSC representative Safdar Klasra said the hegemonic rule of Takht-i-Lahore (throne of Lahore) was robbing the Saraiki people of their land, water, and other resources.

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“Our communal lands are being allotted to the non-locals, our share of canal water is taken away by central Punjab, and our annual share of Rs500 billion in National Finance Commission (NFC) is being usurped by Punjab,” he claimed.

Arslan Niazi, a student of Quaid-i-Azam University said Takht-i-Lahore was discriminating against the Saraiki youth in the provision of jobs, depriving Saraiki children of their right to primary education in their mother tongue, and denying the Saraiki-speaking area its share of medical, engineering and higher education institutions.

Arslan Munawar, a student of Arid Agriculture University said despite being rich in natural resources and agriculture production, the Saraiki-speaking area lagged far behind central Punjab in terms of basic amenities such as health and education, road and communication, infrastructure, and job opportunities.

The speakers of the rally urged the Saraiki people to cast their vote only for those political parties that support the creation of a Saraiki province and reject the ones who have historically been its opponents.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2024.