The resolution submitted in the National Assembly calls for the formation of Bahawalpur, FATA, south Punjab and Hazara provinces.
Earlier today, the National Assembly had successfully passed a resolution for the formation of a new province carved out of south Punjab.
Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar had complained that the speaker had taken up such an important matter without giving notice. He had claimed there was too much noise and questioned how the speaker determined who had voted in favour of the resolution and who had not.
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emphasized textNo number of provinces will be of any good the common man.. it is just another means of increasing the number of ministers and office holders for the benefit of these politicians.. for us nothing will change.. what difference does it make if I get robbed by a Pashtun, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi or Muhajir.. that fact is I get robbed.
@Faysal: I am very busy in my work but looking at your frivolous remarks, I think a few moments to respond to u would be worthwhile. PMLN (the socalled open-hearted party) is playing political gimmicks in KP in response to PPP south punjab province. KP is the smallest of all provinces. Yet they are bent on dividing it further because they know that Pashtun as a nation is divided (as evidenced in people like you, followers of tsunami, amir muqam etc.). On administrative grounds, Punjab should be divided into 3, Baluchistan into 2 or 3, Sind 2 and KP should stay as 1 province. As for FATA, if it is turned to a new province it would create the worst kind of administrative situation as geographically, socailly and logistically the areas are more closely linked to KP. So no logic of dividing KP on admin grounds. If they want provinces on linguistic basis, then south Punjab and Pashtun areas in baluchistan are ripe cases for new provinces. hazara is not a logical case because more than 50% of population of Hazara is Pashtun who, after the politics of ethnicity started by Baba Haider, are now more loyal to the main Pakhtun land than before.
The sharif brothers have gone mad. Their moves of political gimmickry r always thoughtless and backfire. In response to ppp gimmick of dividing punjab, they resolve to divide kp, and that too on admin basis. Hilarious!! Kp being the smallest province is being divided into 2 (rather 3 becuse tribal pakhtuns also want to join kp), and nothing is said about sind and Baluchistan. Simply because of fear of Balauch and sindis. Fear is the main feature of their politics whether it is begging adictator to let them go on exile or requesting taliban to spare punjab or the armed resistance of baloch. In kp they know pakhtuns as a divided nation wont mind splitting them into several provinces. If provinces r made on admin basis then punjab should be divided in 3, baluchistan in 2, sind 2 and kp together with fata as one province. But i wonder if this formula would be acceptable to sharifs because they r bent upon splitting pakhtuns politically and geographically. Their logic for kp is unique, neithr linguistic (as more than 50% population of hazara is pashtun), nor administrative logic coz kp is the smallest province. Their only logic is to divide and exploit pakhtuns.
More provinces in Sindh and Boluchistan also. Good job NS.keep it up.
Reflects lack of any seriousness of the PPP-PMLN duo to comprehend the challenges for the people of Pakistan. How pathetic to divert attention to these lesser problems. Will more provinces create more energy, will it reduce inflation, will it create more jobs, will it provide cleaner water to the people???
@kasai well they are nothing compared to South of Punjab and the rest of the country. Tiwanas are very old people and not in absolute majority there. Also Potohar region is predominantly Arid land and there are more people employed in mining than Agriculture. Sir In Arid lands no feudalism can be evolved. Of course they are small groups and they will always remain but this does not mean we should not have more provinces.
@Lala Gee: Well if at present all money is spent on Lahore and Multan then imagine by smaller units more cities will come into development circle. Take for instance if in Future Faisalabad and Rawalpindi be added as capitals then at least two more major cities will have development and this process could continue. Also I visited Europe some months back and studied their systems and your claim of the whole of World is utterly wrong. In Germany I have seen that smaller and big cities have separate funding and all cities are developed according to wise Planning and Budget allocation and no minister can take more chunk than the specified.
and they were critisizing H.E. Pres Zardari and PM Ghilani when they were hard pressed to limit the number of new states to just ONE - south punjab .....now punjabi based PML-N has suggested FOUR new provinces ....so how about that ?????
@Hasan Awan:
"So it is the time to get separate units so that Politicians will not siphon off funds for personal constituencies and every City will get their due rights in future."
Throughout the world big cities get major chunk of the development funds and the rural areas usually get much less. The reason simply being that cities create proportionately more revenues for the government as compared to rural areas. Visit Karachi and you will forget Lahore. Almost half the development budget of Sindh is spent on Karachi alone. Here is what you are going to get out of the South Punjab province. Most of the development funds will be spent in Multan and you will still be complaining for the lack of clean drinking water. Only a few elite will benefit and the masses will remain as they are today, if not worst.
@Hasan Awan:
How is this not on ethnic or linguistic lines? Hazra is predominately Hindku based, FATA is tribal and is more similar ethnically and linguistically to itself then any place else. Bahawalpur has been a state for long so they are mostly similar language speaking people; same with South Punjab which is mostly Siraiki speakers.
All a political gimmick..I'm in favor of creating new provinces but it requires proper homework and not just two resolutions...They are trying to cash in ppl's sentiments by doing this.. ANd good to see PML-N taking a U turn on this topic too..AT first they were against creation of new provinces and now after PPP,they have copied them and submitted the resolution thmselves
Allah Rahem Kare !! the future of Pakistan can be clearly seen in the above photo as it is shown as broken and divided in many parts.
Nice step by PML (N) but y r we forgetting Sindh and Gawader???......Give Gwader a provincial status and facilitate people in settling there...this might shift population hike from karachi.....
Tribune where did you get this Map of Pakistan? It shows Sindh broken down in two. The provincial capital for the bottom half is probably Mirpurkhas and the top on is Khairpur :S...
If the above map is one proposed then I will support this move of PML-N even though I am a PTI supporter. I am a Muhajir living in Karachi and this talk of a Muhajir province is totally absurd. Karachi has the all the races of Pakistan in it and you cannot label it belonging to one race. Some readers might be surprised to know that the city with the highest Pakhtoon population in world is not Kabul, Peshawar or Quetta but it is Karachi. See what I mean.
a very noble and progressive resolution indeed however we need to move to a chief minister with a very small cabinet and small assemblies.we shoild also scrap the office of governor for which I see no need.
It is shame Express that your map on this article is not showing Kashmir as part of Pakistan....................SHAME ON YOU.
@Khurram:
Brilliant comment,you've hit the nail on the head.There are double standards being applied in the making of new provinces,dividing up punjab is being advocated but dividing up sindh and kpk is being condemned.
Please Please Stop Dividing our country into pieces.
It will be easier for the insurgent sympathizer to gain near absolute majority and pass laws that are not acceptable to rest of the country or global village.
Parliamentary democracy is designed to keep on feeding the insatiable appetite for Corruption, Incompetence, Loot and Plunder of the so-called "ruling elites". This current Government, its so-called coalition partners, and its so-called Opposition have proved beyond doubt what rigged and bogus 'mandate' provides. To move forward Pakistan needs a Presidential Form of Government, where the candidate for the Highest Office stands for a direct election. Our politicians cannot think beyond seeing their dynasties lording over the people and stealing their resources. Creating New Provinces is purely their dream for milking away whatever is left. Hordes of Incompetent people will be provided with new opportunities to further destroy whatever is left of the fabric of this Country.
@Moise: With due respect I said Division on administrative lines not on linguistic lines as in this region there is not one language but Potohari, Hindko and Shahpuri are major languages of Potohar region and also People consider themselves as Culturally Punjabi Also In educated regions the situation could be pretty different compared to uneducated regions as people vote after some knowhow. In Potohar region people have the highest literacy rate compared to rest of the country after Karachi. Literacy rate is more than 80 percent here and Educated people dont vote the corrupt very often. Also there is no Jageedari, Wadaira System or Feudal system at all so there is no way one can hijack the political system as no one family is in power here.
Dear Mr. Moise, you make a good point. but then what do you suggest we do about the problem of Lahore? How do we stop Lahore from stealing all our development funds? How do we stop Lahore from destroying the Punjabi language, culture and identity? How can we free ourselves from Lahore's clutches?
I personally appreciate making of new provinces but the base established for these divisions is truly ethinic hence I oppose any such step taken by any political party....
@Sindhi: Your Comment is hypocritical as All Sindh ministers have said that they want South Punjab as it is not good to be run from Lahore for Administrative reasons. So if Administration is not better in Punjab then how come it is better in Sindh???. This means Sindh and KPK governments are supporting splitting of Punjab on ethnic hatred based manner as You all want division in Punjab while you want your province as a whole. How come a person from Ghotki can go to Karachi to meet their needs. If they will have a separate province then they will live in a peaceful and a developed manner. So end this hypocrisy my friend. If Balochistan, KPK and Sindh wants division in Punjab then they should support it in their own backyard as well.
I move a resolution for a province for me.
To all who are in favour of Mohajir province! For Allah Sake don’t keep calling yourselves Mohajirs. You are no longer Mohajirs! You are Pakistani now! People who came from India didn’t just go to Sindh, they went to Punjab as well. Today you are asking for a separate province in Sindh tomorrow you will ask for a separate province in Punjab and perhaps day after tomorrow Altaf Hussain and co will ask a for a province in London. If you still consider yourself an outsider and think that being an outsider you should be given right in this country then you better go back to your country "India". We should be thanking Allah that we are in Pakistan! If you were to have your separate provinces then why your ancestors even bothered to come to Pakistan! They should have better stayed back. They came here because they wanted to live in harmony in a Muslim society and to be called as PAKISTANI.
The best way is to declare all the Divisions as Provinces, with its own resources, financial discipline, oversight role of the federation. There should be threshold limit on Population (say 15 or 20 million, or the province gets divided).
@Maaz Siddiqui: Around the world smaller provinces leads to stable position and there is no burden in it as administration becomes better. Take the example of Turkey where there are many Provinces but it is governed in a better manner and this practice is around Europe as well So Dont say that. The whole of Pakistan needs more provinces for the betterment and situation in Punjab should be incurred on PMLN Gov as apart from Lahore they forgot the whole of Punjab and now people of smaller cities are voicing their concerns and want division on administrative lines so that someone would be there to defend these people when someone will take their funding away and just spent it on one city and will say that Lahore will be new Istanbul while rest of Punjab will become Ehtiopia.
Why does the image with the story show a divided Sindh and Baluchistan when there is clearly no demand from people of these provinces. ET please don't act as devils advocate and infuriate people. Also when I say there is no demand I mean a public stand from any political party from these province, not these people who just comment on these articles.
@Hasan Awan: Just wait and see how corrupts will rise to the top in your own province, speaking your language, wearing clothes like you, eating same food as you and pillage your wealth. Just wait and see.
@Nadeem Rizvi: Yes, that would be great interms of breaking Pakistan...we cannot make provinces on migrated peoples demands.....!!. and do you think that Indian muslims will also demand another province for Pakistani migrated peoples in India as well????
The news and map don't quite match up
With friends such as us, Pakistan does not need any enemies, we are all responsible and together in this one task which is destroying our home. When we don't love and care for Pakistan then no one can or cares to save it. Sad, very very sad indeed.
If new Provence will be based on language they speak, Hazara should be first, Urdu speaking karachi should be next. followed by pashto speaking in Baluchistan and so on more the merrier. PPP is playing their cards to end their era.
More provinces....more governors....more CMs...more ministries....huge administrtation costs....plus all the senseless corruption you can expect from the CMs of the new provinces, which will be made(or rewarded) by PPP and PML(N)
One of the biggest culprits of Pakistan PML-N. Don't let them take over after parasites (PPP).
@A.Bajwa: You should Study the Indus Valley Civilization more. You are wrong in a sense because Indus valley span regions from Taxila upto Harrapa and even beyond and Jhang is in the mid of these regions so obviously a part of it. Taxila was like a Centre along with Harappa region. It is just a name otherwise this region was not confined to this region alone.Also it is a preliminary idea and this division is based on Administrative lines so that Provinces could be stronger and their names are based on their previous historical background. But it needs debate but naming these regions based on Old Civilizations and Regions is a good step as it is based on administrative grounds and not on ethnic or linguistic lines.
i count more than 4 in the image! Am i missing something????
stop dividing Baluchistan
if the resolution of pmln pass then it will be a good move. but i don't think neither the ppps resolution nor pmlns will actually implemented. anp and pashtun nationalists will not allow to carve hazara division. if only fata is allowed to merged with kpk then there is a possibility. i think fata should be included in kpk.
The proposal for new provinces by Ch Nisar is frivolous in the sense that boundaries of Ghandara are artificial. How can Jhang be part of Ghandara.Only the Taxila represents Ghandara culture.I think he wants to extend his personal territorydown south.
The idea of reviving Bhawalpur is good but then the old Baluchistan states like Kharan Mekran Las Bella should also be recognised.And how can you merge Dera Ghazi Khan be merged into Bolan province. That is predominantly Pashtoon.
The good point is the idea of a Commission.
good job by pml-N
@yusuf: Upper and lower Sindh is a very nice development.Dividing sindh will lead to a prosperous Sindhi society.
Map shows twelve provinces, is this intentional ET??
It's ridiculous, that people are suggesting a separate province for 'Muhajirs'.
Just because the demographics change that doesn't mean a new province has to be made.
There are many South Asians in England, does that mean Bradford should be a separate county for South Asians?
There are many Cubans in Miami, does that mean Florida should be split between Hispanics and non-Hispanics?
If you're going to make new provinces based on linguistics, then that's just wrong.
If Afghans continue to migrate to Karachi does that mean Karachi should be an Afgani territory?
Maybe Muslims in Europe will now demand a new country Muslims in Europe.
@ullo: Well you could say I belong from whole of Potohar region but I am talking about Regions of Soon valley where my family exist for centuries which are one of the most beautiful regions of Punjab and most neglected and its adjacent regions like Sakesar region where people have no drinking water facilities and even just go outside of Pindi like Gujar Khan and Dhudial regions of Chakwal which i visit frequently and even people have to travel for miles for drinking water. Even people in Punjab dont know about that such beautiful regions exist in Punjab because nobody cares about them. If Potohar could be established another province then Soon Valley. Murree, Sakesar and Kallar Kahar regions could be developed and huge revenue could be generated by Tourism and our region and culture could be preserved as well.
Passing resolution is just an eye wash and part of their own electoral politics. After 4.5 years they suddenly realized that new provinces should be formed. dont fall for it folks they are not sincere abt the issue.
Thank you ET this time u included kashmir as part of Pakistan in the map
Shabash!!! Is that how national resolutions are passed ? Was it even debated ? It speaks volume of non-seriousness of our government and opposition.
The article says 4 new provinces resolution by PMLN while the map shows 7 new provinces. What's the deal Tribune? Can't you do one thing right?
Please show the correct map.....
All divisions should be made provinces......!
Dear Mr. Hassan awan. Which is your city? I am from Pindi. I agree Lahore takes everything. Lahore is also murdering the language, culture and identity of the Punjabi nation. New provinces based on adminstrative grounds could solve these problems and so are not a bad idea in themselves But just look at the manner in which these Pakistani politicans are behaving.
@Faysal:
Why must always Punjab only make sacrifices for Pakistan? There has been discrimination in electricity and gas loadshedding against punjab and now everyone is targetting punjab to be broken up to create new provinces.The people of Sindh should also show a big heart and allow the creation of a new Muhajir province in lower Sindh.
@Moise: I disagree. Do you know people from my region are begging Shahbaz Sharif for the last four years to give them the facility of drinking water. In my city People and Animals drink from the same well When they visit Lahore they see BRTS projects, Wide roads and every development possible and in my region in the past four years Even a single drinking water project is not approved. If 20 billion could be spent on one ring road in Lahore then that same amount is enough for providing drinking water to 20 districts of Punjab. So it is the time to get separate units so that Politicians will not siphon off funds for personal constituencies and every City will get their due rights in future.
What a farce. We are about to sink in to chaos and anarchy. The final disintegration of Pakistan begins.
I am a Pathan, but I can say that the most successful nation in Pakistan is Punjabis. And the reason for that is their open-heartedness. Look at Sindhis, Balochis and KP, they resist devision, but Punjab has not. This will result in more development in Punjab and its new provinces while the hypocrates (nationalists) will keep their provinces backward.
More jobs for the elites. 4 provinces, countless ministries and departments, financed by lower and middle class.
Seems like the protest is over, and it will be business as usual. Imran Khan you read PML-N correctly. Never trust these thugs. No other party does. Like UAE prince in Wikileaks said "Nawaz Shariff is too dangerous to be trusted".
Forming provinces INSHALLAH will help Pakistan become strong. Our provinces are too big and too hard to manage. IG Punjab has power over all punjab, his power will be almost halfed after the formation of new provinces.
Compare with any big country, e.g. usa, they have a popualtion of 250 Mln or so and have 50 states, we have population of 180 Mln and 4 provinces. any other big coutnry will give you an idea that more provinces are not there to create divisions but to make sure they are administrated rightly.
my 2 cents
It's time the urdu,memoni and gujrati speaking people of Sindh were also given a new province of their own.The Mohajirs who came from india gave a lot of sacrifices in the migration,it is time we were given a province of our own,a new Mohajir province of our own.
New provinces for the Pashtuns in balochistan and the Muhajirs in Sindh must also be made.
It's good that new provinces are being made and it's a great opportunity to give the people who came from India a new Mohajir province in lower Sindh.
Divide and destroy Pakistan.
Why no resolution moved for the Muhajir province?
It is a good move given everything being done on administrative basis. The governance can be improved with this step when there will be smaller units. But no Province should be made on Ethnic or linguistic lines. I am from Potohar region and based on Geography it could be made into a North Punjab Potohar Province and if included Mianwali as well then it will be a great administrative unit as well. I hope PMLN will move a resolution for North Punjab Potohar province as well as it is non Ethnic and purely based on geographical lines of Potohar plateau.
Both PPP and PMLN doing dirty politics
moving away from Gillani's issue, nice attempt to divert attention of media and public