Why More Provinces? (Part-2)

International experts reject the simplistic explanation that National/ military disasters are merely the product of individual incompetence or "operator error". Instead, they argue that such catastrophes are systemic; highlighting the place of National/ military misfortune at the individual, organizational, and national-political levels. For fault finding, focusing solely on the individual obscures deeper systemic issues. Individuals within political and military hierarchies do not operate in a vacuum; they are constrained by cognitive biases, institutional group think, and established mental paradigms. Therefore, even competent leaders are frequently trapped, blinded, or paralyzed by the party/ organizational machinery and information flows surrounding them; routine reliance on individual brilliance is a flawed safety strategy.  

Misfortunes occur when incompetent, shortsighted, submissive and power hungry national leaders demand military instruments to achieve objectives that are politically or logistically unfeasible; and its reverse is equally true in case of Pakistan. Here I am compelled to quote a few lines from my published piece, “Living a Lie”: ‘Have we learned relevant lessons from our National Misfortunes (loss of East Pakistan being at the top) and from other natural calamities? Does our present political system ensure true public representation, or is it the continuation of a vicious cycle keeping the people deprived from the hands of the second/third-generation of hereditary, incompetent, corrupt and unworthy rulers? Is our judicial system free and fair? Is timely & free justice available to the people? Is the economy of Pakistan in the hands of patriotic technocrats or in the hands of IMF/WB representatives, who are always worsening the economic crises and further complicating the asphyxiating debt traps? Has any Pakistani Government ever satisfactorily ensured provision of affordable food, shelter, clothing, energy, education, and health care to the common citizens of Pakistan? Is freedom of speech, freedom from oppression, freedom of movement & safe travel, safety of life &, property and family/self-respect, and, more importantly, respect for people’s mandate available in Pakistan? Have we undertaken honest retrospection of all consequential national decisions taken in the past to ensure that the present national decisions are thoroughly debated in both houses of Parliament, people taken onboard and then implemented to achieve the National Interest of Pakistan, i.e. Security and Well-being of the People of Pakistan? Ultimately, ‘National/ Military Misfortunes’ happen as an inherent risk of weak political institutions and complex over-stretched military systems. Putting one's own house in order in the political, economic and security domains needs to be Pakistan’s top priority, which is not likely when the largest and most popular political party in the country is secluded & kept on the anvil along with its incarcerated leadership. 

Coming back to the subject of this column, opponents of new constitutional provinces including this scribe advocate for empowering divisions (headed by Commissioners) and local governments (Article 140A). By delegating financial and administrative powers directly to local elected representatives at the district level, by which the state can address regional grievances without altering provincial boundaries. Creating a new province in Pakistan requires a constitutional amendment that alters the country's territorial boundaries (Article 1(2)). This process is governed by Article 239 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which sets a high bar to ensure broad national and regional consensus. However, to manage political pressure without passing a constitutional amendment, successive provincial governments have relied on administrative decentralization rather than territorial division. In 2020, a dedicated South Punjab Secretariat was established with separate Additional Chief Secretaries and Secretaries operating out of Multan and Bahawalpur. And ‘Ring-fenced development budgets’ (around 32% of the total Punjab Annual Development Program) were allocated specifically for southern districts.

In my opinion, breaking the opposing State into pieces is not just an idiom but a reality. National Strength lies in unity, not in further geographical division, which is prone to further foment racial, linguistic and sub-nationalism. Instead, we need to improve the performance in the fields of Justice, education and overall administration/ public services by having more Administrative Divisions/ Districts with strictly apolitical administration under close vigil/ oversight. The monopoly and blackmailing by the ruling class always finding a place in the parliament can be best taken care of  by free and fair elections like held in most European countries. Do one need to repeat here all the ills like ethnic, linguistic, sectarian, haves and have nots/ privileged and unprivileged class hatred, political divisions and maladministration due to weak writ of the law & justice; which are already shaking the foundations of Pakistan. Won’t the division into more provinces add on to the existing fissiparous, flustered and standalone sub-nationalist tendencies? Won’t it further facilitate manipulation of State’s affairs by the domestic power wielders and external movers and shakers? Needless to say, such a serious subject should follow a deliberate approach involving intelligentsia, public at large, a truly representative government and comprehensive all parties parliamentary debate on the floors of both houses. That shall be followed up by due scrutiny by the constitutional experts and a Referendum to take a decision whether Pakistan needs more Provinces or more Administrative Units/ Districts within each existing province and Federal Territories.