Pakistan is in an immanent
danger to breaking up or that such an eventuating is inevitable. It is true that
some of elites in its smaller provinces are dissatisfied with their share of the
things the country generates. But their grievances are not huge and the demands
accompanying them are not all that difficult to meet.
The basic grievance is that the Punjab is dominating the central government,
further they dominate commerce in the smaller provinces, and they have taken too
many posts in their government and administration. These assassins may be
slightly exaggerated, but they are not entirely unfounded.
There, the inescapable tact is that Punjab constitutes more than 60 per cent of
the counter’s population. The sheer logic of numbers makes them dominant in
matters that fall domains.
This will remain the case as
long as the (central government) center’s jurisdiction remains extensive as it
is. Secondly, it so happens that Punjabis has had greater access to general
education profession and managerial training. This edge enables them to take
jobs in the smaller provinces that would otherwise have gone to local aspirants.
This state of affairs has been changing as universities, college and training
institutes have multiplied in the formally neglected areas. But even as they
catch-up with Punjabis in terms of education and training, their presence in
central government will remain relatively modest.
This problem cannot be overcome except by limiting the central government to a
few enumerated functions, the once to which the federating units have agreed,
and by transferring the rest of its current powers and functions to provincial
government. This is what the provincial autonomy means. If provincial autonomy
along with these lines is implemented, most of jobs currently located in the
central government & occupied by Punjabis will move to the provincial
governments and open up to the local elites.
Experience of our own and that of several other countries, has shown that it
does not perform the function that was expected of it. Even the United Kingdom,
which planted the “Strong Center” in the Indian subcontinent, has abandoned it
in dealing with its own components units (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland
and Wales).
But in the case of our country‘s politics, our parliamentarians want to dominate
the country’s government. But they can do so if governance is for the most part
located in the center’s domain.
It should be understood that those who black the way to provincial autonomy are
not friends of this country, Pakistan nationhood and an overbearing center
cannot go together.
But keeping in view the fundamental rights, all the provinces should have equal
rights.