- Is the MQM (P) asking for its pound of flesh?
An MQM (P) member has submitted a bill to the National Assembly Secretariat proposing a doubling of the number of provinces in Pakistan from four to eight, by trifurcating Punjab, and bifurcating Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sind. As the MQM (P) is part of the ruling coalition, this proposal would seem to be almost the MQM (P) asking for its pound of flesh, with the government trying to rally support for the legislation on the COAS’s tenure extension mandated by the Supreme Court.
The MQM (P) has an interest in carving a separate Muhajir province out of Sind, and its designating it South Sindh, and including it not as a standalone proposal, but as part of an omnibus scheme, is an apparent acknowledgement that a reorganisation of provinces is more palatable than a proposed Muhajir province. Indeed, trying to carve up one province would merely expose the intra-provincial fissures that exist in other provinces. Support for new provinces is on the fringes at present, but the success of any one province’s movement would automatically create support for others. It thus makes sense for any proposal to tackle all issues.
However, the real objection to any further divisions is any new province requiring tremendous resources to set up, and once set up, needing to be financially viable, not just for the next financial year, or even the next five, but far into the future. There is no indication of any such studies having been conducted. The studies of the cost of setting up a new province, which will range from the cost of setting up a new provincial secretariat, of a new provincial assembly, a new high court, and many other provincial institutions, without which proponents would feel deprived. Then there will be the issue of the new provinces’ relation to the federal resources, most notably employment quotas and shares in the federal divisible pool. The share of KP after the merger of FATA shows that merely assigning National Assembly seats to the proposed provinces will not solve all issues.
The MQM (P) may not be serious in its endeavour. However, it has shown what it thinks will appeal to its voter base. It may not be entirely serious in such a desire, but it would be unfortunate if the PTI was to start off in this direction.
