Daily Times

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday submitted a constitutional amendment bill in the National Assembly for creation of Bahawalpur and South Punjab provinces.

The bill, submitted to NA secretary by MNAs Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Tanvir and Rana Sanaullah, demands that Article 1 of the constitution be amended to create the new provinces.

According to the bill, the province of Bahawalpur will comprise the existing administrative division of Bahawalpur. The South Punjab province will comprise existing administrative divisions of Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan. After the formation of the new provinces, these divisions will be excluded from Punjab.

The bill calls for amendment to Article 51 of the constitution for changes in allocation of seats in the National Assembly, making way for representation of the two new provinces in parliament.

According to the bill, once the amendment is done, Bahawalpur will have 15 general and three women seats, bringing the total to 18. It calls for allocation of 38 seats to the South Punjab province. After the amendment, the total number of seats in Lower House will rise to 326, out of which 266 will be general seats while 60 will be women-specific.

The amendment calls for 39 seats of the Punjab Assembly to be allocated for Bahawalpur, out of which 31 would be general and eight women-only. According to the bill, 80 seats would be allocated to the South Punjab province, out of which 64 would be general seats while 14 women-specific and two for minorities.

The bill calls for an amendment in Article 154 of the constitution through which ‘National Commission for Creation of New Provinces’ should be constituted to deal with the area and other specifications of the new provinces.

The bill says that Article 175(a) of the constitution should be amended to create principal seats of the Supreme Court and the high court in the new provinces.

The bill pointed out that on May 9, 2012, the Punjab Assembly had already approved the creation of these provinces.

Addressing a joint press conference along with Ahsan Iqbal and Maryam Aurangzeb, former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said his party was ready to support Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on the creation of new provinces. “If the government is serious in creating Bahawalpur and South Punjab provinces, the PML-N will support it unconditionally,” he said. The PML-N lawmaker, however, said he was fearful that the PTI government will take a U-turn on the issue, terming the ruling party a ‘master of taking U-turns’.

Abbasi said that political stability is need of the hour to get rid of the prevailing crises and take the country forward. He lamented that there was no merit in the country, “If there had been any respect for merit, Usman Buzdar would not have been chief minister of Punjab,” he said.

The PML-N leader said the current situation of the country is in front of everyone, adding that economy is in dire straits. “The economy does not run through tweets, but practical measures,” he said, and termed economic growth the biggest challenge of the country.

The PML-N leader said his government faced the challenges without any foreign aid. He demanded that the government take parliament into confidence over foreign loans.

Abbasi said PML-N government had initiated projects of new dams to tackle water scarcity in the country. He said the PTI government should have pursued the projects. He said the government has lost the confidence of the business community. He went on to say that Prime Minister Imran Khan and other ministers give lectures on daily basis and deliver speeches inside and outside the parliament “but only hurling allegations won’t resolve the problems of the masses.” “If government thinks that solution of national challenges lies in accountability of the PML-N, we are ready for that,” he said, and added that accountability should begin from him and his cabinet. He, however, said Imran Khan should also summon asset details of his own cabinet members.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Iqbal said opposition does not want to topple the government and that it will support government’s public welfare projects such as provision of jobs and houses to the poor.

Published in Daily Times, January 29^th 2019.