PPP supports South Punjab province: Zardari

President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday that Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) was sincere to the people of South Punjab and, that is why, it promised separate province to them keeping in view their aspirations and legitimate demand.
He expressed these views while meeting a delegation comprising of notables and parliamentarians from Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar called on him at the presidency.
The president reiterated that PPP was an egalitarian party that believed in the nation-building process and not merely in the politics of sloganeering or getting votes.
He said the party would continue making all efforts to fulfill its promise during its current tenure.
He said that making separate province was part of PPP’s nation building process and would further strengthen the federation by addressing the issues of fair distribution of resources, creation of economic opportunities for the people, legislative and administrative empowerment and other issues of major concern to the people of South Punjab.
The president said the party took the first concrete step with the help of its allies, tabling and adopting a resolution in the Lower House of the Parliament. He said he was looking forward to early constitution of the commission that would look into the issues of the creation of separate province and to initiate the process of amendments in the Constitution.
He called upon the parliamentarians and notables to go to the masses and put the issue of South Punjab in the correct perspective that the creation of a separate province was not aimed against anyone but a part of nation building process of PPP.
The president said the government was making every effort to ease the situation regarding to the power shortage. He said that with necessary financial arrangements having been made for meeting the fuel requirements and rising water level in the reservoirs, it was expected that the situation would improve soon.
The delegation thanked the president for his interest in the issues of South Punjab and removing grievances and sense of deprivation of the people of the area.
In this connection, they mentioned the reference of the president made to the speaker of the National Assembly for constituting a Commission to look into the issue of creation of separate province for the people of South Punjab.
The participants also spoke on host of issues with special reference to the issues being faced by the people of Southern Punjab including the prevailing energy crisis. They also brought to the attention of the president various developmental issues of their areas.
The delegation comprised Federal Minister Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din, MPAs Muhammad Tariq Amin Hotyana, Mian Muhammad Ali Laleka, Sardar Muhammad Afzal Tatlah and Ch Shaukat Mahmood Basra. Haider Zaman Qureshi, Rao Ijaz Ali Khan, Iftikhar Ali Chishti Jatla, and Amjad Majeed Qureshi were also present in the meeting.