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WEEKLY
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| Three MPs lend support to demand for Seraiki province |
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Friday, March 12, 2010
By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Three MPs belonging to the southern Punjab - MNA Jehangir Khan Tarin and senators Mohammad Ali Durrani and Jamal Leghari - have announced not to vote for the proposed constitutional amendments package unless a new province was carved out of Punjab.
A day earlier PML-Q MNA Sardar Bahadur Khan Sihar had made a similar announcement for the creation of the Seraiki province. Jehangir Khan Tarin and Mohammad Ali Durrani had served as ministers in the cabinet of Shaukat Aziz and now both are championing the cause of a new Seraiki province. Although Mohammad Ali Durrani is leading a campaign to get the status of former Bahawalpur province restored, he also supports the demand for a Seraiki province with Multan as its capital.
Jamal Leghari, the son of former president Farooq Leghari, told The News that he did not have any doubt in his mind that he would not cast his vote in favour of these amendments being given final touches by the constitutional committee headed by Raza Rabbani. He said now the issue of Seraiki province is far more important for the people of southern Punjab than these so-called amendments.
He said the people of the Seraiki belt are facing the grievous problems of political discrimination and poverty. He said even the canal water meant for the Seraiki region was now being given to Sindh on the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, depriving the region of water for the wheat crop. Jamal Khan said he was not alone and a majority of MPs from the southern Punjab shared these views about the new province.
He said he would try to convince his party leadership to press the concerned authorities to create the new province. But he made it clear that he would not cast his vote and would boycott the proceedings as and when these amendments are presented in the house, even if his party did not support the move for the new province.
Jhangir Khan Tarin, the parliamentary leader of PML (F), also made similar announcement. He said the people of southern Punjab had now realised that the only way to move forward is to get a new province and use their own resources for their development instead of seeking alms from Lahore.
Former information minister Senator Mohammad Ali Durrani also announced that he fully endorsed the move for the Seraiki province and would boycott the proceedings of the house at the time of passage of the constitutional package. He said he has already moved a bill in the upper house to demand new provinces in the country to address the real issues of the masses, as centralisation of power has led to an acute sense of deprivation and backwardness.
Mr Durrani said he has also handed over the copy of this new bill to Senator Raza Rabbani for inclusion in the proposed constitutional package, offering himself to appear before his committee members to give them a comprehensive briefing about his demand for new provinces in the country.
Mr Durrani wondered why new provinces could not be created in Pakistan when India, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran and other such countries had made new provinces to develop their people. He argued that without creating more administrative units, issues such poverty, backwardness and rising lawlessness could not be controlled as Punjab is too huge a province to be run by one chief minister, governor or IG.
This correspondent also contacted Senator Raza Rabbani, who heads the constitutional reforms committee, to get his point of view on this issue but he refused to make any comment, saying he would be in a position to say something after a few days.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
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