Geographically, Pakistan is divided into four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP). Now each of these provinces is associated with a single ethno linguistic group, which dominates the population of that province. For instance, Punjab with Punjabis, Sindh with Sindhis, Baluchistan with Baluch and the NWFP with Pashtuns. The tribal population of the country is concentrated in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) and Azad Kashmir.
Since independence, Pakistan has witnessed partition along ethno linguistic lines. Such a movement was first seen during 1971, when Pakistan’s East wing, viz. East Pakistan, became the new independent state of Bangladesh. Post independence, statements by Pakistani leaders before and after 1970 stressed the importance of a strong center and critisized the idea of greater provincial autonomy. The loss of more than half of Pakistan’s population in 1971 did not alert the leadership of the dangers of ignoring the local nationalist sentiments. Pakistan’s ethnic and linguistic minorities often cite the founding document called the Lahore Resolution which ensures legitimizing the claims of these ethno linguistic groups for greater autonomy. The resolution does not include the word “federation”, but it does say that the independent state should have “constituent units” that would be “autonomous and sovereign.’’ On the other hand, the state leadership opposes the stance of ethnolinguism and considers it as a threat for the state.
After the separation of East Pakistan from Pakistan, there were other subnational movements too, claiming for a different/independent statehood, like, Sindhudesh, an independent Baluchistan, a NWFP tied to Afghanistan and even for Mojahirs, a different Karachi. Following are some of the sessionist movements that have happened in Pakistan:
Balawaristan : seeking to define a separate identity for Gilgit, Baltistan and Ladakh regions from that of the Kashmir Valley and Jammu; not recognized by either the Government of India, Pakistan and China. Separatists claim of human rights abuses by the Pakistani forces on the locals, which has also been reported to the UNO. Officially, the ethnic nationalist politicians of the Balawaristan support independence, but agree they are willing to stay part of Pakistan if given proper representation in the government.
Sindhudesh: Influenced by the separation of the province of East Pakistan, the Sindhi separatist movement began in 1972. Jeay Sindh Mahaz was the umbrella organization of several Sindhi separatist groups. Ghulam Murtaza Syed (G. M. Syed), a Sindhi separatist leader, wanted Sindh to become an independent Sindhudesh like the then newly formed Bangladesh. However, support for separatism amongst common Sindhi folk is lukewarm as shown by their voting preferences; of eight pro-separation parties, not a single one has been voted into power in Sindh to this day. The Jeay Sindh movement had abated by the mid-1970s but revives from time to time. Balochistan: The Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) separatist group was founded by Jumma Khan Marri in 1964 in Damascus, and played an important role in the 1968-1980 insurgency in Pakistani Balochistan and Iranian Balochistan. The BLF had support from Arab nationalists leaders from Iraq. Mir Hazar Ramkhani, the father of Jumma Khan Marri, took over the group in the 1980s. The Balochistan Liberation Army (also Baloch Liberation Army or Baluchistan Liberation army) (BLA) is a Baloch nationalist militant secessionist organization. The stated goals of the organization include the establishment of an independent state of Balochistan separate from Pakistan and Iran. The BLA has also claimed responsibility for the systematic ethnic genocide of Punjabis in Balochistan (about 500 as of July 2010) as well as blowing up of gas pipelines. In 2006, the BLA was declared to be a terrorist organization by the Pakistani and British governments.
Pashtun separatists: Pashtunistan is a proposed state for ethnic Pashtuns seeking to separate Pashtuns from Afghanistan and Pakistan. While the current insurgency in both Pakistan and Afghanistan is mostly centered in the Pashtunistan area, the movement is solely Islamist and not ethnic nationalist, wishing to make a state with Sharia law. Greater Afghanistan: Another Pashtun separatist movement proposes the separating of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by abolishing the Durand line, which proponents of this idea believe to be illegal, and returning what is now Pakhtunkhwa to Afghanistan which would mean creating a "Greater Afghanistan" resembling Afghanistan before the Durand agreement. Afghanistan still has not recognized the Durand line which remains a very controversial issue between the two countries.
Pakistan is a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual country. Unlike India, the leaders of Pakistan could not evolve a healthy democratic culture to solve the problems of its people. The leadership was not representative of people’s aspirations and though the leaders understood the plight of the regional groups for their discontent, they never did anything substantial in terms of policy making. As said, above, they have always asserted the importance of centralization. The other reason for the assertion of regional identities can be seen from the economic point of view. Economy is in doldrums in Pakistan. Apart from gross mismanagement by the ruling elite - the army - bureaucracy- landlord troika - the nuclear engagement with India has taken its toll. Economic growth has faltered and is now incapable of keeping pace with Pakistan's annual population growth rate of nearly 3%, from about 6% in the 1980s. Current military budget consumes roughly 40% of the gross national product. Much of the government spending goes on interest payment. After all this, the government does not have sufficient amount to meet with people's aspiration. The chief interest of the elite in this situation has been to maintain status quo, thereby only escalating the persisting peril of the problem.
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