While the PPP’s manifesto committee has not yet designed the exact contours of a separate province in Punjab, former law minister Dr Babar Awan’s announcement of giving ‘good news’ to the Seraiki people in forthcoming month of Ramazan is nothing but an attempt by the coalition government to divert the masses and media’s attention from real issues confronting the nation and the ongoing executive-judiciary standoff.
Babar Awan’s announcement came soon after PML-N President Nawaz Sharif stated in his party’s central general council meeting that the creation of new provinces was not a bad thing. Nawaz said, “I am in favour of creating new provinces when and where these are necessary to resolve people’s problems. If new provinces are made on linguistic, racial or ethnic basis, it would damage the country’s security and integrity. This should only be done to strengthen national integration and only in public interest and not to draw new lines of alienation and hatred or as a part of a new political game.”
In the time when executive-judiciary confrontation was touching sensitive peaks, Awan’s ‘good news’ to the Seraiki people in the month of Ramazan is at one hand PPP’s pre-emptive move to reduce space for the Sharifs to win hearts of the people of the Southern Punjab and on the other hand an attempt by the government to launch new avenues of political debate in the media and country’s political circles to divert people’s attention from government’s weaknesses.
The PPP leaders, privy to the developments made so far after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s pledge in Jalalpur Pirwala a few months ago about the creation of a separate Seraiki province, claim that the government has yet not defined the exact contour of the new province. It is pertinent to mention here that PPP central leader and Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi, who hails from Dera Ismail Khan – a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with majority of Seraiki speaking people – has more than once demanded that DI Khan should also be made a part of the Seraiki province while PPP’s reliable coalition partner – Awami National Party – strongly opposes Kundi’s proposal.
A member of PPP’s manifesto committee, constituted few months ago by President Asif Ali Zardari, had told Pakistan Today in an informal chat that the government would take serious measures for the bifurcation of Punjab just ahead of next general elections so that in case a new province was formed for the people of Southern Punjab, the PPP could reap full political mileage from its achievement.
Even the real stake holders – politicians and people of Southern Punjab – have differences on the bifurcation of Punjab on lingual basis as all of them though support the formation of a new province in Punjab but are against the division of Punjab on lingual grounds.
A large number of non-Seraiki settlers in Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, and other district of Southern Punjab feel a sense of discrimination and insecurity when someone from the region or outside demands the creation of a Seraiki province. A non-Seraiki PML-N MNA from Bahawalpur said that the PPP’s slogan of creating Seraiki province would in fact reduce the chances of bifurcation of Punjab as it would shatter the unity of the dwellers of the region though through this province, the PPP might succeed in winning votes of the Seraiki speaking people in the next general elections.
Former information minister Senator Mohammed Ali Durrani, who has been spearheading the restoration of Bahawalpur province movement for the last two years has also warned the prime minister against fuelling hatred among the people of Southern Punjab on lingual basis. He said that the premier’s dream to get his son elected as the chief minister of the PPP’s proposed Seraiki province might stimulate anarchy in the ‘peaceful’ region. Senator Durrani, along a number of local influential political persons of Bahawalpur Division, seeks restoration of Bahawalpur province and is against making Bahawalpur a part of PPP’s conceived Seraiki province.
The Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid supports the bifurcation of Punjab as its leaders think the formation of another province in Punjab would cut the power domain of the Sharifs. The Chaudhrys believe that the possible opposition by the PML-N for the creation of Seraiki province would deprive the Sharifs from the Seraiki vote bank in upcoming general elections providing an opportunity to the PPP-PML-Q alliance to bag maximum seats in provincial and national assemblies from as many as 16 districts of Punjab. It is pertinent to mention here that the Chaudhrys were initially reluctant to own Seraiki province movement with the fear that their step could deprive them of the support even from their hometown Gujrat.
