Politicians favouring the formation of new provinces said Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) should realize the sensitivity of the issue and instead of concentrating on point-scoring, it should respect the sentiment of the masses.
They opined that PML-N was afraid of shortening its rule by favouring new provinces in Punjab and its demand of forming a national commission for new provinces was in fact an attempt to gain the time.
PPP: General Secretary Pakistan People’s party (PPP) Punjab Sami ullah Khan said that PML-N’s demand of national commission for recommendations to form new province was in other words an insult to the parliamentarians sitting in the assemblies. He said that every parliamentarian was a representative of hundreds of thousands people of his constituency. By saying that respectable people from society, PML-N was trying to degrade legislators, Sami opined. He said that demand of new province in Southern Punjab was the voice of suppressed people who have always been deprived of their basic rights. He suggested that Sharif brothers announce unconditional support to new province in South Punjab otherwise their government would end. Parliamentary leader of PPP in Punjab Assembly Major (r) Zulfiqar Gondal said PML-N should mend its attitude towards masses aspiration as the governments working against the public wishes were always toppled. The PPP leadership had neither asked nor stopped anyone from raising the voice for the new province, he said. PML-Q:Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) leaders while saying that history was being written regarding the opponents and supporters for creating a new province in South Punjab claimed that PML-N was left with no other choice than to back a new federating unit in the province. PML-Q leaders hailing from South Punjab, Sikander Bosan, Khusroo Bakhtiar and Ishaq Khaqwani in a joint press statement on Monday claimed that the matter relating to formation of a new province in South Punjab had passed the phase of uttering mere statements and demanding commissions over the issue, as the people of southern parts of the province wanted a new province on administrative grounds.
They maintained that not a single political party or leader could afford to go against the proposal of a new province in South Punjab.
APML: Spokesman of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) Fawad Ch and Javaid Badr said more provinces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh must also be constituted to resolve the problems of the masses.
