AT a time when most of the leaders belonging to various political parties prefer playing to the galleries on the sensitive issue of creation of new provinces, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, a veteran Leaguer and a visionary personality, has cautioned against the tendency fearing that it could harm the Federation.
The issue came under discussion when another PML(N) Senator introduced a bill seeking a separate province in South Punjab, which understandably evoked support from PPP’s Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi, both hailing from the region.
It is now crystal clear that creation of more provinces offers no solution to the genuine problems of the people except that it would add to the financial burden of the state and open more avenues of prosperity for bureaucracy, elite class and politicians who get lucrative benefits in such eventualities.
Those behind such political stunts are neither serving people nor the state but their own vested personal or party interests.
Senator Mushahid has rightly pleaded that instead of a new province, federating units should be strengthened along with local governments under the 18th Amendment.
This is a rational approach as what people want is their financial and economic empowerment, judicious distribution of resources and a say in the resolution of their problems.
These objectives can adequately be served by allocation of resources down to the level of Union Councils and allowing the LG system to work without undue interference from political and bureaucratic bosses.
The warning that creation of one province would open a Pandora’s Box also needs to be taken seriously especially when there are demands for separate provinces in Hazara, Karachi/Hyderabad and a province for Pakhtoon belt in Balochistan.
