PML-N to restore Bahawalpur province at all costs: Shahbaz, Nisar

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday pledged that it would restore the previous status of Bahawalpur province “at any cost”.
This was stated during a joint press conference addressed by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
The chief minister criticised the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-led coalition government on the issue of new provinces, saying that Bahawalpur province would be created at any cost. He said that Bahawalpur city would be the capital of the new province.
Shahbaz said the issue of new provinces was another trick by the PPP and the “Zardari gang” to postpone the forthcoming elections. He said the PPP was trying to put the issue of new provinces in doldrums by misleading the people. Commenting on the Parliamentary Commission on New Provinces in Punjab, the chief minister said the body should look into the administrative issues of the new provinces, instead of political ones.
On the occasion, Chaudhry Nisar said the creation of new provinces was not only a joke but would also disintegrate the Punjab province. He said the Parliamentary Commission on New Provinces was given a mandate to form two provinces, and this regard a resolution was also unanimously passed in the Punjab Assembly.
He said the inclusion of Bhakkar and Mianwali cities in the South Punjab province was also unconstitutional. He strongly criticised the PPP government and President Asif Ali Zaradri, saying the commission’s chairman, Senator Farhatullah Babar, was a staff member of the president and therefore unacceptable.
The opposition leader said that his party was also committed to Hazara province, but added that the PML-N would consult with other parties on this issue. He also announced that the PML-N would table its own amendment bill for the creation of Bahawalpur and South Punjab provinces in line with the resolutions passed by the Punjab Assembly.
“No senior member of the PML-N belonging to Punjab was consulted prior to the formation of the parliamentary commission, which was unlawfully named by President Zardari,” he added. Commenting on the PML-N’s sit-in, he said that the sit-in would be held on the issue of Karachi violence and all opposition parties participate in it.

Protests held in Mianwali, Bahawalpur against proposed province

A shutter-down strike was observed in Mianwali and parts of Bahawalpur on Monday against the proposed Bahawalpur-South Punjab province. In Multan, Saraiki Party and Saraikistan Qaumi Ittehad (SQI) staged a protest at Chowk Nawan Shehar against the proposed name. They also performed a symbolic hanging to record their protest. The protestors said that they would not accept this name, adding that their protest would continue unless the proposed province was named Saraikistan. In Mianwali, traders observed a shutter-down strike against the proposal to include their division in the proposed Bahawalpur South Punjab province. They called for the exclusion of Mianwali from new province. In Ahmedpur tehsil of Bahawalpur, lawyers and traders observed a strike against the proposed bill. Addressing a press conference, senior Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Habibullah Bhutta also demanded that Bahawalpur be reinstated as a separate province. The protestors said that they would not allow the new province to “grab” Mianwali’s resources.