The issue of formation of new provinces is discussed ever so often in the country, but it fails to move the government, political and social circles each time.

Pakistan is the sixth largest populated country in the world and is likely to takeover the fifth position this year -- thanks to higher birth rate, better healthcare facilities and social faux pas that more children ensure better household economy. With increasing population, the country is expected to cross Indonesia and the US in the coming years.

There is a need not only to build new housing units, launch projects at the national level to ensure food security to its citizens, but also to restructure the current administrative units. Currently, there is tremendous pressure on cities as mass migration from rural to urban centres is continuing which is shrinking the agricultural land and cultivated area, and pressurizing the city life.

The current division of provinces on the basis of ethnicity, a legacy of the colonial era, is absolutely incompatible with principles of modern economy and administration, thus causing a sense of deprivation in various areas of the country and even within the people of the same province.

India with all its diversity has never failed to carve out new provinces. It now has 28 states and seven union territories when it had just seven provinces at the time of independence. Iran has a population of over 80 million and has 30 provinces, Afghanistan has a population of over 34 million and has 19 provinces, Turkey has a population of around 80 million, but has 81 provinces, Egypt has a population of over 95 million and has 27 provinces, Britain has a population of around 66 million but has nine administrative units, Germany has the population of around 83 billion and has 16 states and France has 18 administrative regions.

But Pakistan has the population of over 200 million and an area of 796,095 square kilometres with only four provinces.

The country has diverse population, has different races, ethnicities, and cultural life as well as geographical regions. When the people of northern and western parts of the country enjoy cold breezes passing through glaciers and mountain passages, the southern side simmers in heat.

But diversity is never a weakness. It is always a strength of a nation. There are hardly a few countries of the world having homogenous society and Pakistan is not an exception. Almost all the countries are made of amalgamation of ethnic groups, races, religions and cultures. The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom and several other political and economic powers are the best example of unity in the diversity.

In Pakistan’s case, the current administrative units are posing potential threat to the national harmony. There is a sense of deprivation in southern Punjab as the seat of provincial government is in central Punjab. There is a demand for Hazara province in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and hundreds of people have lost their lives for the cause. An ethnic volcano is dormant in urban centres of Sindh. There are areas within Balochistan, a province covering 40 per cent of the total area of Pakistan, that are different ethnically, socially and administratively from one another. The requirement of new administrative units is a necessity, but strings of ethnicity, culture and nationalism are attached to it. A simple case of new provinces have a host of complex sensitivities and the government cannot take a decision all alone. They are the people who have to find a way out. If people of an area want that their rights be respected, they should also have to respect the rights and sensitivities of the people sitting on the other side of the fence.

The recent death of 20 innocent Punjabis at the hands of Baloch insurgents has shocked the nation. The victims will were killed at the start of their journey to Europe. Politicians, parochialists and enemies of the country, who do not want Pakistan to grow and develop as a modern and technologically advanced country, sow the seeds of hatred. They don’t want peace and stability in this country, but we as a nation cannot put all the blame on the enemies of Pakistan when we have drastically failed to fulfill our national obligations.

Punjab is the largest province of the country with over 100 million population and has the lion’s share in the army and other government jobs. There is a sense of deprivation within Punjab, as the people of southern Punjab allege foul play by central Punjab. The lack of awareness about the country’s geography and ethnic groups also cause damage to national integration. Then, people living in Sadiqabad are linguistically and culturally different from people of Potohar. People of Dogri-speaking Sialkot are different from those of Sargodha and Mianwali -- but together they form one province.

The situation is the same with other provinces. It is, therefore, need of the hour to divide the country on administrative lines. Every province should have its own forum of people’s representatives which should be responsible for its profit and loss account. The new provinces should have the ownership of their natural resources, finance, agriculture and industry. A man of Rahim Yar Khan should not be forced to visit Lahore for his personal affairs, rather should go to Multan for the resolution of his problems. A person from Nawabshah should not have to go to Karachi, but to Hyderabad or Larkana to resolve his issues.

The main opposition to the new provinces comes from the nationalist parties that use parochialism and regional slogans to win elections. But there is solution to every problem. There is no need to rename Sindh, but provinces should be named as south Sindh, north Sindh and central Sindh. The same rules can be applied in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Hazara Pakhtunkhwa and Abaseen Pakhtunkhwa can be carved out of the main province.

The latest controversy on the issue of granting provincial status to Fata can also be resolved in the same manner. There should be three or four Seraiki provinces in Punjab and two Potohar provinces along with central province and Bahalwapur province. The nationalist parties would have more chances to come to power in smaller provinces.

There is a sense of deprivation in Gilgit-Baltistan as they have no representation in the National Assembly or the Senate. They, too, are Pakistanis and need their basic political rights.

There was a great opportunity to create new provinces during the Musharraf regime. The opportunity was lost due to opposition from various political figures of the time. Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the then chief minister of Punjab and central figure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, vehemently opposed the division of Punjab and formation of new provinces.

The next general elections are nearing. Perhaps this is the best time to resolve this problem. The division will also provide opportunities to the political parties to have their governments in more than one province.