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Abstract
This article will examine in detail how conflicts can be prevented in the new provincial set-up of Pakistan. There exists a potential threat of the outbreak of conflict between different ethnic and lingual groups if new provinces are created without taking into account the interests of major stakeholders and the concerns of minority-majority ethnic and lingual groups. The case study of Hazara by focusing on the movement for a separate province will look into the dynamics of conflict formation and prevention in that region of Pakistan.
Key words: Conflict transformation, preventive action, multi-stakeholder approach, sub?nationalism, hazara province
Introduction
In December 1971 Pakistan became the first post-colonial state to experience its breakup on ethnic grounds (Jehan, 1994). The new map of Pakistan which emerged after its disintegration appeared homogenous and compact unlike the geographically in contiguous eastern and western wings of the country 1 Yet, the post-1971 Pakistan failed to accommodate ethnic identities who wanted a separate provincial status thus maintaining status quo in the provincial map of the country.
Therefore, as rightly argued by a Pakistani scholar, "One major unresolved area of conflict in Pakistan is the problem of ethnic and regional sub- nationalism in the smaller provinces. Although, Pakistan is now a more cohesive state than it was before the separation of East Pakistan, critical problems still remain unresolved and tend to complicate the process of nation- building." (Amin, 1991).
Constitutionally, Pakistan has four provinces along with Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). India has 28 states and seven union territories, whereas Afghanistan has 34 provinces. Pakistan is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual multi-cultural and multi-religious state but despite its heterogeneous nature, the country maintained its provincial boundaries without accommodating new provincial units. However, the federal structure of Pakistan composed of four provinces, reflected asymmetry in terms of population and territory. Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan with 44% of its area but with only 5% of population whereas, Punjab, which is second to Balochistan in terms of territory, is the most populous province of the country with around 55% of population. North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP) having a majority of Pashtuns was renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) in the 18th constitutional amendment passed by the parliament of Pakistan in April 2010. The province of...