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Title: Demand of the Saraiki Province and the Role of Political Parties: A Comparative Study of Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (2008-2018)
Authors: Rana Pervaiz Iqbal
Journal: Political Horizons
| Category | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Y | 2024-10-01 | 2025-12-31 |
Publisher: Islamia University, Bahawalpur
Country: Pakistan
Year: 2024
Volume: 2
Issue: 1
Language: English
The sense of deprivation often leads towards ethnic conflicts in state. The lack of social, political and economic opportunities create tendencies of demanding new units within the state. The demand of the Saraiki province is also an example of the demand of the deprived people. The Saraiki province has been a long wish of local people of Saraiki belt. Almost all the past governments did not heed proper attention and any mechanism could not be emerged for the Saraiki province. The Saraiki belt (Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan), despite the promise of equal rights by giving new province to them, the people of Saraiki belt were not facilitated even with the basic rights of education and health. The South Punjab may be regarded as periphery of the core for the federal and the provincial governments of Pakistan where both the governments are manipulating its resources and manpower. The south Punjab, in turn, gets further decrease in development and funds as Punjab is a large province which may not address the issues of a common man at its doorstep. Moreover, display of poor governance is seen everywhere as the required funds and power are not given to the Saraiki belt. Pakistan people’s Party remained in power from 2018 and Pakistan Muslim League N steered the government from 2013to 2018. Despite the promises and claims, both the parties could not even brought the Saraiki province issue to limelight. The objective of the paper is to find out the working of the political parties for the new Saraiki province. Applying descriptive and analytical method, this comparative study focused on the policies, performance and role of two major political parties, PPP and PMLN, regarding the formation of the Saraiki province in South Punjab.
Key words: Saraikee province, Role of Political Parties, PPP, PMLN, South Punjab
To evaluate the policies, performance, and role of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) regarding the formation of a new Saraiki province in South Punjab between 2008 and 2018.
Descriptive and analytical methodology using secondary resources such as articles, books, interviews, and press briefings. Data was also collected from the official websites of PMLN, PPP, and the Election Commission of Pakistan. The study identifies the role and policies of PPP and PMLN as independent variables and the outcome of their actions for the Saraiki province as dependent variables.
graph TD
A["Data Collection Secondary Resources, Official Websites"] --> B["Descriptive and Analytical Methodology"];
B --> C["Identify Independent Variables"Role, Policies, Performance of PPP & PMLN""];
C --> D["Identify Dependent Variables"Outcome for Saraiki Province""];
D --> E["Analysis of Policies and Performance"];
E --> F["Comparative Study of PPP and PMLN"];
F --> G["Formulate Conclusions"];
The demand for a Saraiki province stems from the socio-cultural and politico-economic deprivation experienced by the people of South Punjab. While both major political parties acknowledged these grievances and made promises, their actions were largely driven by political interests and electoral considerations rather than a genuine commitment to provincial creation. The study suggests that the failure to form the province is due to the personal political interests of PPP and PMLN.
Both the PPP and PMLN, despite promising the creation of a Saraiki province, failed to materialize it during their tenures (2008-2018). The PPP presented a bill for one new province in the National Assembly, while PMLN proposed two new provinces in the Punjab Assembly. Both parties are seen as having used the demand for a Saraiki province as an election slogan to gain votes from the South Punjab region.
The creation of a Saraiki province remains an unfulfilled promise and an "election-winning slogan" for both the PPP and PMLN. Despite holding power for a decade collectively, neither party took concrete steps to establish the new province. The study concludes that both parties are equally responsible for the continued deprivation of the South Punjab region, with the PPP credited for proposing one province and PMLN for proposing two.
* Claim: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) ruled from 2008-2013. Confirmation: The text states, "Pakistan People's Party remained in power from 2008-2013."
* Claim: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) steered the government from 2013 to 2018. Confirmation: The text states, "Pakistan Muslim League N steered the government from 2013 to 2018."
* Claim: The population of Punjab in 2023 increased to 127,688,922. Confirmation: The text states, "According to the census of 2023, the population of Punjab has increased to 127,688,922."
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