The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government formally decided in a meeting held in Islamabad to review the security situation in violence-hit Karachi that a new Saraiki province would be carved out of southern Punjab, and President Asif Ali Zardari would likely announce the formation of the new province on August 14, a private TV channel reported.
The formation of the Saraiki province has been the subject of many heated debates ever since the PPP came into power in 2008, with many of its leaders – including Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani – promising that the province would be formed. In a National Assembly session held on Wednesday, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Javed Hashmi also advocated the formation of a Saraiki province, saying the population of the country had increased manifold and there was a need to create more provinces to address the people’s problems.