The issue of the dark-faced one (Kalmoonha) is different, arguments and counter-arguments stand in their place, and the reservations and objections of the opponents are also present, but the matter has moved far beyond that—the game is on. The thought and position regarding the creation of new provinces remain firm and steadfast, and if no crisis occurs, voices in favor of new provinces will now be raised from every district. Expectations for successful results of this campaign by the beginning of next year have also been set. Planning in this regard has been completed, and in the coming weeks, this campaign will run with full force and fervor. This is not an analysis; it is news.
For the past few days, it was believed that the campaign to create new provinces had been temporarily postponed due to the opposition or mysterious silence of the coalition parties, similar to the six canals and CSIF. However, the reality turned out to be quite the opposite. Postponing or ignoring this proposal was not even thought of; rather, preparations are underway to accelerate its implementation. For now, the People’s Party members (Peepley) are refusing to create new provinces in Sindh. Before bringing this proposal to the fore, the person sitting on the high hill was also offered to bring his party’s government in two southern provinces of Punjab. However, both father and son remained adamant that creating new provinces in Sindh is not a matter of their ego, but of their political survival. For now, the winds of Islamabad and Rawalpindi seem displeased with the Sindhi elder (Sindhi Baba) seated on the high hill and his “proud” son. The League members (Nawaz League/Nooni) initially remained silent because they thought the People’s Party should fight the first battle. Internal sources are now revealing that two strong and opposing views have emerged within the Nawaz League regarding the creation of new provinces. One of these views belongs to the League’s technocrat and bureaucrat advisors, while the second view belongs to the old school of politics. The League’s advisors are advising their leadership to accept the division of provinces instead of opposing new provinces. Since most of the goals of the Nawaz League and the establishment (Muqtadra) are common, unnecessary difficulties should not be created for themselves, the establishment, and the country by creating differences over the issue of provinces. These technocrat advisors not only have complete awareness of the winds and atmosphere of Islamabad, but they also have deep acquaintance with each other. They believe that in the distances that have emerged between the People’s Party and the establishment, the Nawaz League should stand firmly with the establishment instead of standing with the People’s Party. These advisors are delivering a message to the League leadership that even if the People’s Party collides, the League’s political benefit lies in staying in government and supporting the establishment. Regarding the division of Punjab, the opinion of these advisors is that the League has already agreed on creating the new provinces of Bahawalpur and Southern Punjab in Punjab; now, even if Punjab is divided into five or six parts under the new scheme, the most powerful, wealthy, and influential province—Lahore—will still remain with the League. Therefore, the League should avoid fighting a big battle on this issue. The old school of politics within the League is telling its leadership that we should not accept the idea of new provinces under any circumstances. The old school believes that new provinces are being created not for administrative reasons, but to break the influence of two or three parties so that no major political party remains across the country and only regional groups are left. The second objective is to eliminate the share of mineral resources and federal revenues guaranteed to the provinces through the 18th Amendment under the National Finance Commission (NFC) and to make the federation strong again. The advice of this politically experienced old group is that if the League does not agree to the new provinces, this idea will fail, and thus the alliance between the People’s Party and the League will remain intact. If this alliance breaks, the inevitable result will cause the weakness of both the establishment and the allies. The day any one member leaves the 3-member alliance of the People’s Party, the League, or the establishment, it will be the drumbeat of a collective downfall. History bears witness to this, and the same will happen in the future. The old school is advising its League leadership that new provinces are a quagmire in which politics and national stability will sink and lose; force will be strengthened instead of democracy; the power of both major—or rather all three major—political parties will end, and the federation will once again run the state according to its own will.
Reports indicate that initially, the majority opinion of the League was close to the old school, and the silence of the top League leader also pointed toward this. But now, technocrat advisors are arming both their Prime Minister and Chief Minister with such arguments that they accept the scheme of new provinces. The reason leaves are fluttering in favor of new provinces in Lahore and Islamabad may also involve the sudden media campaigns against the Chief Minister. Technocrat advisors believe that these media campaigns are gaining momentum due to the gap created between the establishment and the League over the provinces, and opponents are trying to take advantage of this gap and widen it. The advisors’ opinion is that once the gap ends, the opposition will die its own death.
The issue of new provinces has become like a hockey match. This hockey match has entered the exact phase where the ball reaches the ‘D’—a delicate moment in the match. If the pass is received correctly and the shot hits the mark, it is a goal; but if a mistake occurs anywhere, the matter is postponed until the ball reaches the ‘D’ again. This matter, as the saying goes, is currently in the ‘D’ of the hockey match. The People’s Party player has missed the pass; now all attention is focused on giving the pass to the League player, while the Justice party (Insaafi) player is also waiting. Who will take the pass, and who will score the goal? The decision rests solely on this. In the month of September, the Prime Minister’s visit to America and the President’s visit to China were scheduled. The Prime Minister went to America and is getting praise from President Trump, while the President’s visit was postponed due to extraordinary domestic conditions. The President was supposed to depart for China after returning from Europe, but those dates passed and the visit could not take place. On one hand, Khalil Khan is flying doves, and on the other hand, lives and properties are at stake. In reality, the choices are still between acceptability and popularity. The League’s advisors consider choosing popularity over acceptability a difficult choice, because popularity brings face-to-face with “wrath” (Ma’toobiyat). In Sindh, the People’s Party, for the sake of its survival, is constantly considering the difficult option of wrath instead of popularity, but for now, the League’s advisors are not even ready to consider this choice. In fact, they know that much thought and deliberation have already gone into the matter of new provinces, expert and experienced teams have worked on it, and some people are also sitting ready to run the new reset. Work on the district economy and new regional economies is ongoing with full force and vigor. That is why it is being said that the choice of “do or die” (Aar ya Paar) exists only to the extent of an earthquake or crisis; otherwise, the matter is settled, and they want to cross the shore (Nayya Paar) under any circumstances.
If no change comes in the situation, the rules established by the system will remain applicable. The People’s Party members will achieve popularity by abandoning acceptability—and they already have—but they will become victims of wrath and displeasure. The League members want to run the train only on the track of acceptability; they have found suitability and reasonableness in it. The Pythagorean theorem has been settled, only minor formulas remain; once the main formula is decided, the details will also be settled.
As for the dark-faced one (Kalmoonha), the reservations and concerns of the doll of clay (Matti ka Bawa), as someone said, what does this “false Einstein of politics” know about the changing world? Now, the flag of acceptability is raised high, the banner of popularity is lowered; the word of agreement stands tall, the word of denial is rejected; saying anything is useless, listening to everything is required, and thinking something new or different has become futile, and talking about it has become unreasonable. The dark-faced one will have to live in this very world.