New Delhi: The decision to impose emergency and Governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has been met with anger and widespread protests. While the Federal government which took this decision at the behest of the Pakistan Army said that this had to be done owing to deteriorating law and order, others say that the establishment sought complete control over the region.
Pakistan watchers are of the view that the decision taken in the case of KP should not be viewed in isolation. It is clear that the Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir wanted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government out of KP and imposing emergency was the only way to do it.
Further, this decision also gives the army complete control over mines and minerals without any interference from a local government.
The experts say that for Munir, KP is just a test case. He has bigger plans in mind. He would assess how the KP decision pans out, following which he would undertake similar exercises in the other mineral rich regions of Pakistan.
The Balochistan Province is rich in copper, gold, chromite, coal and iron. The Sindh province is home to coal, Fuller’s Earth, silica sand and limestone. KP is rich in gemstones, marble, granite and industrial minerals such as gypsum, soapstone, high grade limestone and zagi mountain rare minerals.
Gilgit-Baltistan has precious and semi-precious stones and quartz. The Punjab province on the other hand possesses rock salt, iron ore, limestone and fire clay.
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is famous for world-class rubies, rare blue sapphire, green tourmaline, acquamarine, garnet, zircon, bauxite, white marble, gypsum, granite, quartz and bentonite.
An official said barring KP, there is no emergency rule in any of the other provinces. However, in many there is resistance from both the local government and the people when it comes to extraction of these precious minerals.
Emergency power would make the Governor supreme and with a puppet at the helm, the Pakistan establishment could extract as much as it wants and suppress opposing voices with brute force, the official said.
The most likely target next would be Balochistan followed by PoK and Sindh. The lowest resistance is in the Punjab province, and the army has different plans for this region, the official said.
Another official said that the Pakistan Army chief in addition to discussing ways to extract minerals in these regions without any resistance, is also speaking about the creation of smaller provinces carved out of the existing ones.
Plans are afloat to carve newer provinces out of Punjab and Sindh first. The first move would be made in Punjab where there has been a demand for a separate South Punjab province for many years now.
The supporters for this new province argue that the region does not receive enough political representation or public investment, the official said.
The Pakistan Army is likely to pitch this proposal soon. On the face of it, it would appear that the decision to carve out smaller provinces would lead to more attention and better governance.
However, in reality the bigger parties such as the PPP or PML-N which rule these provinces would become weaker as they get a smaller area to govern.
For instance the PPP has been entirely dominant in the Sindh province since 2008. In the case of the Punjab province, Punjab has been its mainstay.
Creating smaller provinces would affect the political dominance these parties have over these regions. Punjab and Sindh would be first on the target to carve out newer provinces.
This would not only weaken the political parties governing these regions, but would give the army more control to take unilateral decisions regarding the wealth available in these places.
In the case of Balochistan and PoK, the emergency experiment would be extended. In these regions, the issue goes beyond just politics.
There is a lot of resistance from the people of these regions and only an emergency would work if the army has to have the upper hand and extract all the precious minerals from Balochistan and PoK, an official said.
