New Provinces? Think Again! |
Can a political resolution really create a new province in Pakistan? The answer is no. A resolution may create political momentum, generate headlines, strengthen a party’s electoral narrative and even put pressure on the federal government, but it cannot, by itself, redraw Pakistan’s constitutional map. The creation of a new province is ultimately a constitutional exercise, and the Constitution sets a much higher threshold than a simple parliamentary or provincial resolution. This distinction has become increasingly important because the slogan of creating new provinces has been part of Pakistan’s political discourse for decades. From Bahawalpur to South Punjab, from Hazara to demands for smaller administrative units in Sindh and Balochistan, the politics of provincial reorganisation has repeatedly appeared before elections, during parliamentary debates and in political manifestos. Yet despite years of resolutions, promises and movements, Pakistan still has four provinces.
The history of this debate goes much further back than the current political arguments. One of the most important episodes was the creation of One Unit in 1955, when the provinces and princely states of West Pakistan were merged into a single administrative unit. Bahawalpur, which had enjoyed provincial status from 1952, was absorbed into West Pakistan in October 1955. When One Unit was eventually dissolved in 1970, the old provincial structure of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and the former NWFP was restored, but Bahawalpur was incorporated into Punjab rather than being restored as a separate province. That decision eventually became one of the historical foundations of the Bahawalpur province movement.
Over time, the Bahawalpur demand began to intersect with a broader Seraiki political and cultural movement. What initially involved the restoration of Bahawalpur gradually developed into a wider demand for a Seraiki-speaking province covering much of southern Punjab. The Seraiki literary movement gained momentum during the 1960s and 1970s, while the political character of the movement became stronger during the 1980s. By 1981, Seraiki speakers were recognised separately in the census as people were allowed to identify Seraiki as their mother tongue. The demand consequently evolved from a cultural and linguistic campaign into a political argument centred on development, representation, jobs and distribution of resources.
The slogan gained fresh political life after the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010. The amendment transferred substantial powers from the federation to the provinces, but it also intensified questions about representation and development within large provinces. Smaller linguistic and regional communities began asking whether political and administrative power should be further decentralised. In Punjab, the Seraiki province demand became particularly prominent; in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the demand for a separate Hazara province also gained renewed momentum after........