It may be that the fatigue of governing KP are proving too much for CM Ali Amin Gandapur of the PTI, or it may be that he has some dark plan which he is implementing, but his creation of a separate secretariat for three southern divisions of the province are almost as if he is converting to those who believe national unity will be enhanced if existing divisions are made provinces. This is a sort of version of the old West Pakistan plan, which came into being primarily to provide a counterweight to the single province of East Pakistan. That plan broke down even before East Pakistan seceded to form Bangladesh.
It is perhaps symptomatic that Mr Gandapur has lumped Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and Kohat divisions together. There seems to be some linguistic basis for separating them out, but it is increasingly thinner as one moves out of Dera Ismail Khan. It is not clear if the Seraiki of Dera Ismail Khan is supposed to prevail, or if the Kohati and Banuchi dialects of Hindko are to prevail. That is opening a can of worms, for what about the Hindko-speaking Abbottabad Division, and what about Peshawar itself, which is a Hiindko-majority city? In all of these areas, Pashto is also the first language for many, and the second of the rest. And is Kindko a separate language or merely a dialect of Punjabi? Or of Seraiki (whose own status as a language is disputed)?
The PML(N)
There is nothing sacred about provincial boundaries. After all, all three of the divisions were formerly districts until the 1980s, when the bifurcation or even trifurcation of old districts began. However, all three divisions include at least one of the former tribal agencies. Instead of integrating those areas into the province, the attempt to create the old separate Tribal Areas Secretariat should not be allowed to let rank inflation take place. It is no use Mr Gandapur arguing administrative convenience. He is now at a level where all steps, including those of this type, must be thought through for consequences beyond one’s lifetime. Mr Gandapur may be creating a subnational movement where none exists, and all for administrative convenience.
