A top politician in Pakistan suggested that Pakistan should have nine states instead of existing four. Pakistan’s Senate deputy chairman Mirza Mohammad Afridi reasoned purported economic benefits for his suggestion.
So far, none of the proposed new states include parts of India’s Jammu and Kashmir state under illegal Pakistani occupation.
“Look at Balochistan, how vast its area is. There should be three provinces formed in Balochistan as well as three separate ones in Punjab,” Afridi was quoted as saying by DawnTV while referring to Balochistan province where a freedom movement has been ongoing for decades with frequent episodes of violence and state reprisals.
The senate deputy chairman called for Karachi to be made an entirely separate province, adding that: “FATA should be made a separate province and one province should also be formed for Hazara [community].”
Afridi further said the more provinces Pakistan has, the better it will be.
He went on to explain that if the said provinces are formed, they will continue receiving their share of the fiscal budget.
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Dawn publication reported that at one point when Afridi was asked if the decision of merging Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was made in haste, Afridi responded: “We should have obtained a commitment on the promises [made].”
The two impoverished provinces of the South Asian nation were merged after a constitutional amendment in 2017.
Call for more states in Pakistan
The latest statement by a top politician comes just a few months after call for the formation of new states resurfaced in Pakistan. The ruling alliance’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party’s senators moved two bills in March in which they sought the creation of South Punjab and Hazara provinces.
The bill seeking the creation of the south Punjab province was tabled by PML-N Senator Rana Mehmoodul Hassan as a private member’s bill while the one for Hazara was moved by PML-N Senator Pir Sabir Shah.
The deliberations on the same by Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice is yet to take place.
Meanwhile, former prime minister and Pakistan People’s Party Vice-Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani said last month that consultations will be held with all political parties of the country to present the bill for the creation of a Seraiki province.
