Creating new provinces

Speaking in Dera Ghazi Khan on Sunday, PML-N leader and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif came up with the explosive suggestion that "not only should new provinces be formed in southern Punjab, Karachi should also be made a new province." This obviously was his angry response to a growing demand - to which the PPP has lent its support - for dividing Punjab to create the Seraiki province.
Of late, the erstwhile ruling family of the former princely state of Bahawalpur too has started demanding the revival of the old state as a province. The underlying argument in Shahbaz's assertion, of course, is that if language is to serve as the basis for the creation of new provinces, then it should apply to other parts of the country as well.
Both the PPP-led Sindh government, and the MQM, representing the majority Urdu-speaking population of Karachi, have strongly denounced the suggestion, pointing out that unlike the situation in Punjab there is no movement for a new province in their part of the country.
Changing the size and boundaries of the provinces, though, should not be a sanctimonious issue. After all, what comprises Punjab today is not what it used to be under the British rule, or in the pre-One Unit period. After the dissolution of the One Unit in 1969, for instance, the establishment arbitrarily decided to merge Bahawalpur into Punjab.
The Seraiki speakers, aside from citing economic backwardness, also have historical claims to demand a separate province. Irrespective of the merit of these complaints and claims, a recurring theme in the three existing smaller provinces is the largest population Punjab province's political and economic dominance by dint of its sheer size. Within the province itself, there is much heart-burning among those living in the southern region.
They accuse the ruling elite of neglecting them and concentrating all developmental projects and plans in central Punjab. Creating one or more new provinces out of the present-day Punjab, therefore, can actually rid it of the overbearing big brother image, and at its end, to feel at ease in dealing with the other members of the federation.
Notably though, it is not only the Seraiki speakers or the members of the erstwhile ruling family of the defunct princely state of Bahawalpur who wish to carve out two new provinces from Punjab; the Hazarawals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pashtuns in Balochistan have similar aspirations. The common element in all these instances is language.
The Hazarawals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa share Pathan ethnicity with the majority population, what sets them apart is language. Notably, the issue is not peculiar to Pakistan. Since partition, India has undertaken several 'reorganisation' exercises. More to the point, Indian Punjab has twice undergone 'reorganisation' to add two new states to the Union.
The Constitution of this country is silent on the question of new provinces, and the issue is too touchy to be resolved through a simple linguistic identity-rooted formula. The best way forward is to let the people decide the future shape of things through referenda. They should have the choice to decide on linguistic or administrative ease-related considerations.
No one should have a problem accepting the will of the people if in Punjab it favours forming the Seraiki province, or supports the Hazara province in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a separate entity for Pashtuns within Balochistan or merger with KP, or more provinces in Sindh, if the people of each area so desire. The result of the referenda, however, can only serve as a recommendation.
Altering the geographical and administrative boundaries of a province and creating new provinces is only possible through an amendment in the Constitution as enunciated in Article 239 of the Constitution. The important thing for now is to adopt a method that is equally applicable and acceptable to all before proceeding with the exercise of constitutional amendment.