Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) President Javed Hashmi urged Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Saturday to support the creation of new provinces and decentralisation of powers.
Addressing a news conference here at the press club, he said, “If Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif want to save country, they will have to support new provinces and decentralisation of powers.”
He said his party fully supported demands for restoration of Bahawalpur province and formation of Hazara, Seraiki, Pothohar and FATA provinces.
He recalled that presently India had 29 provinces while it was going to form 11 more provinces this year.
Hashmi said that world forces had been keeping an eye on Balochistan and feared that internal chaos could provide a chance to external forces to interfere in order to meet their nefarious designs.
He said that military action was not a solution to the Balochistan issue and demanded to end injustices with the people of the province.
The PTI leader said it was the PML-N chief who persuaded other political parties to boycott general elections. He accepted that he committed a mistake by joining the cabinet of Gen Ziaul Haq’s government.
He said when he was detained, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto made phone calls to him assuring him that they would run ideological politics.
Moreover, he said that former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf had threatened him and Nawab Akbar Bugti of dire consequences.
I want new provinces based on administrative lines not on linguistic or ethnic lines
Administrative lines are easier to adjust. Administrative policies get complicated to support across ethnic or linguistic lines…
I mean aspirations of unique ethnic or linguistic population…
President Hashmi, please don't get impatient because when tsunami hits the parliament you would be all powerful, you would be able make as many provinces you want. At that time NS would be nobody.
Meanwhile, you can tell how much extra water and electricity would be needed and where you are going to get it.
Before committing another partition of the Indus Basin, are the leaders, like Hashmi, aware of the consequences that will follow? It took 150 years to agree to a water distribution accord, wouldn't open another Pandora Box by negotiating new water apportionment accord among new and old provinces? Will Sindh be willing to let Chashma Jhelum canal operate to let South Punjab draw its due share from the Indus? Are the people in the rain-fed region of Potohar demanding a province for them? Why a person like Hashmi is adding fuel to the fire to have an unlimited dialect based divisions in Pakistan? Would Hashmi also support creating new province for the settlers and migrants from East Punjab who either suffered most or contributed most for the sake of Pakistan like the slaves of black community in USA? What is stopping us to learn some wisdom from the European Union by the nations who kept killing each other till the recent past? Perhaps Mr. Hashmi is letting other provinces know that now Punjabis will have majority even in the senate too! In process, however, we may end up Balkanising rather destroying the economic unity of region who produces 80 % of agricultural production. Isn't this be a fatal blow to Pakistan? Why can't we focus on decentralization of powers to grass root level with a funding on a formula like provinces are using to get their share from the federal government? Why can't we demand a flow of financial resources from central Punjab to South Punjab like Germany did for East Germany after the fall of Berlin wall? Why are we so bent upon to dig our own graves? Why do we want to let Punjab also burn like Karachi, Quetta and Gilgit just because of shot-term election related gains? For God sake, think about the consequences and think hard before it is too late!
Hashmi Sahab please just don't talk about Nawaz. If he was an honest man, Pak wouldn't be in the situation.
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