If the subdivision of existing three provinces namely Sindh, Punjab and KP can facilitate their governance and law and order problems, then this should be done in a very dignified manner without politicising the issue. The creation of more administrative units should only be done after a comprehensive and credible census has been carried out, so that the demographic composition can be assessed. In South Punjab, there seems to be a need for carving out at least two administrative units namely Bahawalpur and a Seraki one.
The uncontrollable ethnic violence in Karachi, which has resulted in more victims of violence than FATA, Swat or North Waziristan put together, where an insurgency is going on. The people living in interior of Sindh are not even welcome in Karachi, as was shockingly displayed during recent floods when they had to be registered for placement within their own province. It is also a reality that Karachi does not have a clear majority composition of any single ethnicity and there can be no solution to its problems unless a credible census free from political pressures is carried out. Karachi can also be declared a federally administered unit given its complicated composition and divisions.
Whatever the political solution to these problems, it is a fact that the political elites belonging to rural under-developed areas of Sindh, South Punjab and KP have settled in big cities, which has further added to the woes of the people living in under-developed parts of the country. As long as local representatives do not have a visible presence within their constituencies, these problems can never be resolved.
G ZAMAN
Abbotabad
