The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Thursday said the Punjab governor was violating Article 201 of the constitution by talking about formation of new provinces and he should be stopped from making such statements.
Talking on a point of order in the Upper House, PML-N Senator Jaffar Iqbal raised his concerns regarding the creation of new provinces in Punjab.
He criticised the statements made by Punjab Governor Ahmed Mehmood, saying it was the PML-N that had passed the resolution in the Punjab Assembly about the restoration of Bahawalpur province.
Iqbal said the commission on creation of new provinces must also look into the matter.
To point of order‚ Senator Farhatullah Babar said the commission had nothing to do with statements made by government officials or party members, adding that the matter of creation of new provinces in other parts of the country was not the mandate of the commission.
Shireen Arshad Khan said the leaders of Southern Punjab, who were changing their loyalties, were in fact responsible for the backwardness of the area. “We submitted a resolution regarding the creation of new provinces in the Punjab Assembly,” she said.
On a point of order relating to the incident of Baldia Town Karachi‚ Raza Rabbani said, “I have information that the prime minister has directed authorities to exclude Section 302 from the FIR registered against the owners of the factory.” He expressed concern over the matter and walked out of House. Members of the ANP also joined him.
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Ishaq Dar also expressed concern over such directions by the prime minister and requested the Interior Ministry to present a report on the issue in the House.
The Senate chairman said the report be presented in the House on Monday.
