Creation of south Punjab province hard to materialise this year

MULTAN: The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf’s (PTI) pre-election announcement of creating the South Punjab province is hard to be materialised in the current year as the government has released a circular seeking development schemes under the criteria of allocating 33 per cent quota for south Punjab, The News has learnt.

The government has planned to allocate 70 per cent budget 2019-20 for the ongoing schemes and 30 per cent for the new schemes while the 33 per cent quota would be allocated from the proportionate, said the officials.

It is worth mentioning that PTI had committed creating the south Punjab province in the first 100 days of taking over the power and Janoobi Punjab Sooba Mahaz had signed an agreement with it in this regard.

Seraiki nationalists said the PTI government was just politicising the demand for Seraiki province. In 2018general elections, the PTI had won majority slots from this region than central Punjab with a promise that it would create a new province in first 100 days, they said.

Seraiki Thinkers’ Forum president Taj Gopang said that the PTI had betrayed from her commitments and was just playing with the Seraiki people. The PTI has largely disappointed the people of this remote region, he said.

The Punjab government has sent a circular to Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur commissioners seeking submission of development schemes under the 33 per cent quota fixed in the 2019-20budget. The schemes should not exceed from the limited quota, they added.

The Seraikistan Qaumi Council chairman Zahoor Dhareja observed that the PTI is following the PML-N footsteps and playing with the Seraiki people. Two mainstream political parties PML-N and PPP had announced unconditional support to the PTI in amending the constitution and creating the fifth province but the government is least interested in putting up the constitutional amendment bill.

Dhareja warned that if the PTI continues showing reluctance in this regard, the party will lose its vote bank from this region. The Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Bahawalpur commissioners have directed the health, education and infrastructure development authorities to prepare the budget proposals for the provincial budget 2019-20.

Multan commissioner Imran Sikandar Baloch said, “I have sought development schemes from all departments, catering 33pc quota.” All the departments are bound to upload the budget proposals on the Punjab government website. The Punjab government has issued a timeline for submission of schemes until January 31, he said.

All the Punjab government would finalize all budget proposals until May 25. The district administrations would also submit non-development schemes including new vacancies and projects.

Seraiki National Conference chairman Mansoor Karim said, “Development of roads is not a solution to end the sense of deprivation among the people of this remote region, struggling for a separate province for the last 50 years. People want their identities protected and the right to rule in their own province.” He said if the PTI government considers that this budget allocation was the solution to the problem, it was living in utopia. The only solution is to create a separate province, he added.