5. Ethnic Issues in Pakistan and measures to bolster national integration

National integration is a process of achieving national cohesion, stability, prosperity, strength and feelings of being united as a nation. Pakistan faces varying degrees of religious, ethnic, linguistic, economic and political problems that are often in conflict with our national interests. To guard against all challenges to the solidarity and security of Pakistan, a well knitted and integrated nation is a must. Having inherited a complex nature of multi-ethnic, unevenly developed and multi-linguistic population in its national entity, with different socio-cultural backgrounds, the danger of regional fragmentation is always there. Due its diversity, Pakistan has been confronting a multitude of ethnic issues since its creation. What the state lack is a comprehensive strategy to deal with the perennial issue.  

A look at ethnic, linguistic and religious composition in Pakistan 

 

A)  Ethnicities (2017) 

⦁    Punjabi 44.7%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.4%, Sindhi 14.1%, Saraiki 8.4%, Muhajirs 7.6%, Balochi 3.6%, other 6.3%. 

B) Religious composition of the country 

⦁    Muslim (official) 96.4% (Sunni 85-90%, Shia 10-15%), other (includes Christian, Ahmadi and Hindu) 3.6% (2016 est.) 

C) Distribution based on Linguistic basis 

⦁    Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Saraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashto (alternate name, Pashtu) 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8% 

             

Different Ethnic movements in past and present 

Following are different movements running across the country and posing threat to the national integration of Pakistan: 

⦁Baloch Insurgencies: soon after the creation of Pakistan, an insurgency erupted in Baluchistan in 1948, when Baloch separatists' of Kalat tried to carve out a separate state within Pakistan. The rebellion was put down forcefully. The second wave of insurgency unfolded in 1958, the third wave in 1973 and the last one, perhaps the fiercest one, was triggered by the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti in 2006. Different terrorists' organizations like Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) and Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) continued to wage war against the country till date.  

⦁Pukhtoonistan Movement: Afghanistan was the only country to oppose Pakistan's admission to the United Nations in 1947. The reason was that it had claimed certain areas of the then North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. To achieve its goal of dividing Pakistan, it strained every nerve to stir up Pukhtoon Insurgency in Pakistan. All in all, Afghanistan failed to fuel the movement and it subsided subsequently. 

⦁East Pakistan Separation: The East Pakistan separated from the West Pakistan in 1971.  Different authors site different reasons behind the debacle. All have consensus on the point that they (Now Bengali) were denied equal economic, social and political opportunities. India exploited the situation and worked assiduously to pit the East Pakistan against the West Pakistan. And the decision to use the military force to quell the uprising proved suicidal.  

⦁Sindhu Desh Movement: During 1980s, a rebellion surfaced in Sindh and was brutally put down by the then military dictator. 

⦁Saraiki Movement: Saraiki speaking people of South Punjab always craved for a separate province for them based on linguistic lines. They always resented the domination of North Punjab over resources. As of 2018, the demand is still there for the separate province. 

⦁Sooba Hazara: Similarly, the people of Hazara region belong to Shia sect and want a separate province of their own on religious grounds.  

⦁Muhajir Movement: Muhajirs of Karachi want Karachi to be separated from the rest of Sindh and be made a province.   

  

Major Causes of Ethnic Issues in Pakistan 

⦁ Over-centralization of power: Until 2010, Federal government was all-powerful to control economic, social and political spheres of the country. Provinces enjoyed little autonomy and power. Small provinces always resented such a power-matrix. Centre-province conflicts were a routine happening.  

⦁ Dynastic political parties and politics of ethnicity: The political system of Pakistan is based on dynastic politics. Two leading political parties are ruled by two families. Decision-making power remained vested in a few people. Therefore, interests of a larger proportion of the population were compromised and polarization became inevitable. As a matter of fact, ethnic, lingual, religious and regional interests are protected through representation. 

⦁ Uneven development (Economic, social, cultural, scientific) in different parts of country i.e. FATA and Baluchistan are languishing in poverty. Infrastructure and Industry is concentrated in major cities like Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi. Thus, underprivileged sections felt betrayed and harbored hostile feelings against those whom they considered usurpers. 

⦁ Absence of democracy - Frequent military interventions and weak civilian democracy fueled separatists' tendencies. Whenever a military-man rose to power, he ruled the masses with an iron-fist and deprived weaker sections of representation. Military rule entails:  

                   a. Curbs on human rights. 

                   b. seizure of political development / evolution. 

                   c. media is highly censored. 

                  d. Unaccountable to any authority. 

                  e. Enforced disappearances.  

                  f. Judiciary use to legitimize illegal actions. 

                  g. One-man rule. 

              all these actions deal a blow to national integration and cohesion. 

⦁  Absence of mass parties 

       Political parties are concentrated in specific regions. Not a single party can claim to represent          interests of whole Pakistan. For example, PMLN is popular Punjab, ANP in KPK, PPP in Sindh, MQM      Karachi and Baluchistan National Party in Baluchistan. Pakistan Tehrik e Insaf is the only exception.  

⦁ Mismanagement of socio-cultural diversity – Pakistani society exhibits socio-cultural diversity. 

   After every 30 kilometers, either accent or language changes. Rife regional disparities in almost all             regions – northern and southern Punjab and rural and urban Sindh (India had 11 provinces, now it has  28) – deliberate prevention of establishment of new provinces. As a matter of fact, a small area is easy      to govern. So, creating new provinces based on administrative necessities is not a bad idea at all.  

⦁ Transnational interference----External actors always tried to fuel insurgencies in Baluchistan and    KPK. Successive rulers failed to address the legitimate concerns of the people of these two provinces. Inefficiencies of rulers only widened the gulf between privileged and under-privileged sections of the society. 

⦁Historical factors—Punjab was more developed and dominated in every aspect-politics, military and bureaucracy. Baluchistan, KP and Sindh were underdeveloped. Resources concentrated in Punjab. That created a power imbalance among provinces and hampered a complete harmonization.  

Solution/Recommendations: 

⦁The political and social system of developed states, perform as a melting pots so that wider national interests are safeguarded. Among the modern industrialized societies, the United States of America presents the best example, where ethnically diverse groups, with different back grounds merged in American identity and are sharing equally the democratic rights. It is need of the hour that every stake holder in the country makes efforts to make our political and social institutions more inclusive and participatory. A merit-based system should be put in place. 

⦁ Another example is Canada, where more than one ethnic group live and speak their separate language. Although, in Canadian domestic politics, the language issue has remained very important for years but the government is wise enough to resolve it through a workable language policy. To alleviate many of its ethnic groups, the Canadian government has introduced the multicultural policy. The same can be imitated in Pakistan. 

⦁ Conduct a transparent census with regular intervals that reflect the evolving demographic trends in Pakistan. No doubt, it helps the state to allocate the resources and to speculate the future growth and need of ethnic groups. Equitable sharing of resources should be ensured so that no one is left behind. 

⦁ Devolution of power— Pakistan is in dire need of a robust and efficient local bodies system to devolve power to the grass-root level. People at the bottom level should be empowered to make decisions about their lives. As a matter of fact, people belonging to a specific area know problems and miseries confronting that area. It will be better if they are enabled to identify and resolve their issues without dally-dallying tactics of provincial or federal administration.  

⦁ Establishment of mass parties with national portfolios and eschewing politics of ethnicity. More and more political parties should be established based on developmental narratives instead of ethnic, religious or linguistic temptations.   

⦁ Misuse of religion should be considered a serious crime and punished accordingly. In the past, religion was used to garner political support by many only to aggravate polarization in the society.  

⦁ Cementing democracy:  Every Pakistani must bear in mind that democracy empowers common people. They become part of decision-making process by electing their representatives. In democracy, interests of every section of a country is protected through representation. On contrary, in dictatorship, power is vested in one man. Therefore, it is incumbent upon everyone to make concerted efforts to cement roots of democracy in the country.  

⦁ Role of media: media has pivotal role to play. It does not need to highlight differences among people and declare one ethnicity superior over other. It has to become the voice of marginalized sections instead of a tool in the hand of government.  

⦁ Support to National Institution: We have to extend our support to national institutions and national political parties while discourage the regional ones. Unlike past, we have to ensure the political participation of every citizen so that no one felt excluded and the common national identity could develop. 

⦁ Dialogue/ Negotiations: Critical issues must be resolved through democratic way of dialogue. In the past, military force was employed to resolve conflicts of political nature and that approach had backfired and done irreparable damage to Pakistan. There is a need to develop habit of negotiations in the country. 

⦁ Cultural Events like Inter-provincial Youth Quaid-e-Azam Games are a great source of inter-provincial harmony. Such events should be organized on regular basis. More and more inter-provincial ventures should be organized in order to boost understanding among the people of Pakistan. 

Silver lining for national integration in Pakistan  

Since 2010, things are going in right direction: 

⦁18th Constitutional Amendment and provincial autonomy 

                a. Holding constitution in abeyance is high treason 

                 b. Parliamentary form of government – support for democracy 

                c. Abolition of concurrent list – provincial autonomy 

⦁Consensus based NFC award (Provincial share increased to 57.5 %) -- Unlike past, revenue is equitably shared among different units of federation and decisions are made based in consensus. 

⦁Independent judiciary--- 19th amendment – Judicial council of Pakistan will now recommend names of the judges. And judiciary is no more a tool in hands of politicians now, instead work impartially. 

⦁Independent and dynamic media—Media is comparatively independent now.  

⦁Smooth democratic transitions-- As of October,2018, two democratic governments have completed their terms and the third government is running affairs of the country thus ushering in bright future of democracy in Pakistan. 

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