Division of Punjab to bring abouta healthy change: Balakh Mazari

LAHORE: Former prime minister and head of Junoobi Punjab Sooba Mahaz (JPSM), Mir Balakh Sher Mazari, has said that division of Punjab into two or three provinces will play a positive role in country’s politics because it will balance the population ratio among all the provinces thus redressing the complaints of smaller provinces.

Talking to The News, he said the population of existing Punjab is nearly 62 percent of country’s total population and in case of dividing it into two units will bring it down close to the three small provinces. He said this step will remove the sense of deprivation among people of South Punjab and bring about a healthy change in political culture.

He said the problems and development situation of the people living in southern Punjab are totally different than the situation in central and upper Punjab. “Our people are still living four decades behind their brothers living in central and upper Punjab. South Punjab lacks all basic facilities like drinking water, schools, health facilities like hospitals, and employment since there are neither industries nor jobs,” he said. Poverty is the biggest issue of the Southerners since flow of money is from the south to the north in the province. Lahorites have been given Metro Bus and Orange Train along with many bridges, roads and underpasses while people in the south are without such facilities. “There is bridge called Nishter Ghat which has always been under-construction since the creation of Pakistan while the projects in the north are completed in record time. We are not against progress but we want equal distribution of resources. The people of South Punjab are forced to drink contaminated water from ponds along with animals, he lamented.

He said, we have one-point agenda which is division of Punjab. We will win the coming election with this slogan. Whosoever supports our cause we will support him or his party, he said.He said we will welcome any politicians from any party who would support our cause to join our ranks. Mazari said he got retired from politics several years ago but has changed the decision to re-join after seeing miseries of his people of South Punjab. He said he would not contest elections personally, but would support his group and like-minded politicians. He said he didn’t believe in calling the southern province as Saraiki Province, saying names don’t matter but he believes in division of Punjab. Asked if people of Dera Ismail Khan were included in the proposed new province of Saraiki speaking people, he said he would not demand to include them in the proposed province. But if the people of DI Khan would themselves want to join the new province then they would be welcomed.