Ethnic Federalism, State Reforms and Political Stability in Pakistan

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Ethnic Federalism, State Reforms and Political Stability in Pakistan Ethnic Federalism, State Reforms and Political Stability in Pakistan BY Waseem Khan Thesis submitted to the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. Political Science Department of Political Science Faculty of Social Sciences Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan Session 2016-2019 i ii iii iv v Author’s Declaration I Waseem Khan hereby state that my PhD thesis titled “Ethnic Federalism, State Reform and Political Stability in Pakistan” is my own work and has not been submitted previously by me for taking any degree from this University Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan or anywhere else in the country/world. At any time if my statemnet is found to be incorrect even after my Graduation the University has the right to withdraw my PhD degree. Waseem Khan Date: Nov 25, 2019 vi Acknowledgements I am thankful to Dr. Zahid Ali Khan, my thesis supervisor for his incalculable support, encouragement, guidance, valuable comments and suggestions ranging from the concept formation until the completion of this thesis with nice patience. While not his substantial inputs, this analysis would never start up during this form. I would conjointly prefer to categorical my deep gratitude to Assistant Professor Dr. Manzoor Ahmad. I am humbly grateful to any or all and deeply regret that I am unable to list all their names. I would, however, prefer to cite some of those who have provided me assistance to finishing up this research: Dr. Shehzad Khan and Manzoor Khan. And last, I warmly want to record my deepest like for my parents, whose dedications, contributions, scarifies and steering towards building my life are merely countesses. vii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my parents, who have continuously supported me throughout my journey, especially to my father, who taught me that even the largest task could be accomplished if it is done with a sincere heart and mind. viii Abstract This dissertation investigates and looks at the process and structure of ethnic federal arrangement in Pakistan. Pakistan contains around 210 million individuals and roughly around 50 ethnic and linguistic groups. The “ethnic-federal” experiment devolving powers to ethnic groups or provinces goes against the centralized nation building of the previous governments. The previous governments utilized an alternate model; they gave much accentuation to 'Pakistani nationalism' as a bringing together idea and promotes centralization instead of ethnic or provincial autonomy. In any case, in 1973 and after that in 2010, the new ruling party in power, who had begun their development for provincial self-rule, has upheld ethnic-federalism by focusing on that it could engage and adjust the various ethnic groups and lessen conflict. Thus, the overall unified structure of the past regimes has been supplanted by a “federal” framework' comprises of four ethnically provinces with local government self- administrative districts that could practice their very own political power and legitimate identities. Accordingly, ethnicity and federalism have turned into the central point in sorting out the political and regional space in the Pakistan. Since the presentation of the eighteenth amendment in 2010, there have been wide- ranging claims particularly by several Pakistani scholars that federal structure would bring political stability. This short period of survival may not be sufficient to assure the continuation or sustainability of the framework; however it triggers an enthusiasm to see how it has able to endure and furthermore to take part in finding the conceivable clarifications with respect to the trend and pattern of the rebuilding procedure. In this ix manner, this investigation made a close analysis and examination of the procedure so as to decide if ethnic federalism in Pakistan is a fitting model to bring political stability and enable and equalize the various and unique ethnic communities with regards to united and workable Pakistani state. x TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... vii Dedication .................................................................................................................. viii Abstract ........................................................................................................................ ix List of Tables ............................................................................................................. xvi List of Figures ........................................................................................................... xvii Acronyms and Glossary .......................................................................................... xviii Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Evolution of the Federalism .............................................................................. 3 1.1.1 The Colonial Heritage ................................................................................. 3 1.1.2 In Search of the Parity between Wings: 1947-1971 ................................. 5 1.1.3 Restrictive Federalism of the Majority: The 1973 Constitution ............. 7 1.2 Problem Statement ........................................................................................... 11 1.3 Research Objectives ......................................................................................... 12 1.4 Research Questions .......................................................................................... 12 1.5 Significance of the Research ............................................................................ 13 1.6 Research Methodology..................................................................................... 13 1.7 Limitation and Delimitation ............................................................................ 20 1.8 Structure of the Current Study ....................................................................... 22 Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework .................................. 24 2.1 Background of the Study ................................................................................. 24 2.2 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................... 34 2.3 Understanding Federalism .............................................................................. 35 2.3.1 Federation vs Federalism ......................................................................... 35 2.3.2 Federalism – A Normative Concept ........................................................ 36 xi 2.3.3 Regional Representation on Central Level ............................................. 42 2.3.4 Rule of Law and Representation ............................................................. 43 2.3.5 Democracy and Constitutionalism .......................................................... 44 2.3.6 What Decides the Working of Government Frameworks? ................... 46 2.3.7 Symmetry and Asymmetry ...................................................................... 47 2.3.8 Economic and Fiscal Problems ................................................................ 48 2.3.9 The Role of Political Parties ..................................................................... 50 2.4 Federalism in a way of Persistent Political Deal ........................................... 54 2.4.1 Difference among Federalism and Federation ....................................... 55 2.4.2 Federalism in Multiethnic Societies ......................................................... 55 2.5 Understanding Ethnicity ................................................................................. 56 2.6 Understanding Ethnic Federalism .................................................................. 60 2.7 Ethnic Federalism in Pakistan ........................................................................ 67 Chapter 3: Ethnic Federalism and Factors behind its Emergence in Pakistan ... 70 3.1 One Unit Scheme and its Repercussions on Ethnic Politics ......................... 71 3.2 The Rise of Ethno-Nationalist Movements Against One Unit Scheme ....... 78 3.3 The Constitutional Quest for Ethnic Federalism, Autonomy or Self Rule . 88 3.4 Federalism, Autonomy and Self Rule since Independence .......................... 90 3.5 Federalism, Autonomy and Self Rule in Constitution of 1956 ..................... 90 3.6 Federalism, Autonomy and Self Rule in Constitution of 1962 ..................... 92 3.7 Federalism, Autonomy and Self Rule in Constitution of 1973 ..................... 94 3.8 Federalism, Autonomy, Self-Rule and 18th Amendment ............................. 96 Chapter 4: The Process of Ethnic Federalism in Pakistan ..................................... 98 4.1 Structure and Features of the Provinces on Ethnic Status .......................... 98 4.1.1 The Features of the Provinces ................................................................ 106 xii 4.1.2 The Provinces Asymmetric Structure ................................................... 107 4.1.3 The Ethnic Configurations of the Provinces ......................................... 109 4.1.4 Socio-economic Variations among the Provinces ................................. 111 4.1.5 Administrative Structures in the Provinces .......................................... 115 4.2 The 18th Amendment and the 1973 Constitution .......................................
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