A southern dream
By Khawar Ghumman
- The Dawn August 5, 2011
Just a few months earlier when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani first mentioned the idea of a Seraiki province, the PML-N ignored his words as political rhetoric. – Photo by Madeeha Syed/Dawn.com
The notion of a Seraiki province refuses to stay away from the headlines these days.
Dr Babar Awan, former law minister, during a recent press conference had promised that the party would give “a good news to Seraiki speaking people during Ramazan”. Many interpreted this to mean that the party (but not the government) is going to
announce its support for a Seriaki province.
Some PPP allies confirm this. State Minister for Defence Production Sardar Bahadur Khan Sehar told Dawn that at a meeting of the PPP and PML-Q parliamentarians with the prime minister earlier this week, the idea was discussed.
According to him, the government asked the parliamentarians from the Seraiki belt to give suggestions for development projects to win the support of the people. He added that some of the PML-Q parliamentarians suggested that the PPP move a resolution in the Punjab Assembly supporting the creation of a Seraiki province. Sehar feels that this is the best opportunity to build momentum for the Seraiki province. His analysis may be a bit over optimistic but there is no denying the fact that the PPP-PML-Q combine has forced the PML-N into a corner as far as southern Punjab is concerned.
For the first time the PML-N has formed a committee to look into the issue. Nawaz Sharif has also stated that his party is not against the idea of new provinces; it just opposes the idea of forming them on linguistic and ethnic grounds.
Just a few months earlier when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani first mentioned the idea of a Seraiki province, the PML-N ignored his words as political rhetoric.
And when it retaliated, it was with what it thought was a political riposte. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif told a group of journalists that if new provinces were to be formed in Punjab, Karachi should also be made a separate province.
The reaction from Sindh and Karachi was enough to silence the untactful Punjab chief minister.
But this time the PML-N feels cornered on the issue. It is not difficult to understand why. The demand for a Seraiki province is an emotional one in southern Punjab. No politician from the region can afford to distance himself from it.
And those that support it can win brownie points in the area — and votes. This is worrying for the PML-N.
The PPP-PMLQ combine can give the PML-N a tough time in Punjab in general. But in southern Punjab, this electoral alliance can prove invincible, if it jumps into the contest with the promise to turn the region into a separate province.
The PPP and PML-Q have an overwhelming presence in the southern districts of Punjab. Together PPP and PML-Q’s representatives outnumber the PML-N in the region: they have 36 seats compared to PML-N’s 12.
Comprising over a dozen districts, the region has around 50 National Assembly constituencies.
Out of six NA constituencies in Multan district, three were won by the PPP in 2008, two by PML-N and one by PML-Q. D.G Khan’s three seats are shared by PML-Q (two) and PML-N (one). While in districts Rajanpur (two seats), Muzaffargarh (five seats) and Layyah (two seats), the PML-N managed to bag only one; the rest are with PPP and the PML-Q. In district Bahawalpur (five seats), two each were won by the PML-N and PPP and one by the PML-Q.
However, there is no PML-N presence in the neighboring districts of Khanewal, Lodhran, Bahawalnagar and Jhang.
In Rahim Yar Khan (six seats), the PPP has four seats, whereas PML-F and the PML-N have one each.
In short, of the 12 districts in southern Punjab, PML-N has a presence in only six.
No wonder the party is concerned.
Senator Pervez Rashid of the PML-N says the Punjab government had paid special attention to the southern districts and the party hopes for a better result in the next elections.He told Dawn that over the last three years, the annual budgetary allocations for the south have been hiked by 35 per cent. In addition the party has initiated other projects there such as the Danish school system, mobile hospitals as well as allocating 40 per cent of the yellow cab scheme for the Seraiki speaking.
The newly elected deputy secretary general of the PML-N, Ahsan Iqbal, also supports Rashid and says that the party is not worried about the new alliance between the PPP and the PML-Q Brave words, indeed. Let’s see if they are proved right.