Constitutional amendments needed to form south Punjab province: Qureshi

We will hold discussions with like-minded political parties to push the agenda, says foreign minister

MULTAN: [fbvideo link=" https://www.facebook.com/etribune/videos/1009089936147459/

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Wednesday certain constitutional amendments were needed for the creation of South Punjab and that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had decided to initiate political dialogue to build consensus on the issue.

Addressing a news conference in Multan on Wednesday, the minister said the ruling PTI had already introduced a constitution amendment bill in the National Assembly for this purpose but “we require two-thirds majority” to get the bill passed.

According to Qureshi, the proposed South Punjab province comprises Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions. The bill proposes a 120-strong legislature for the new province, through amendments to articles 59, 51, 1, 106, 158 and 218 of the Constitution.

“The word ‘South Punjab’ in the first paragraph of Article 1 will be inducted, and the territories that will be part of South Punjab have been named in the proposed bill,” said Qureshi, while explaining the procedure for the creation of the province.

“The province will come into being through Article 51. It calls for the formation of separate assembly. South Punjab will also get representation in the Senate,” he said, adding that a constitutional amendment could be passed with at least a two-thirds majority.

“We require cooperation of different political parties for a two-thirds majority,” said Qureshi. “We believe it will strengthen the federation, and have decided to hold political dialogue with like-minded political parties,” he added.

Responding to a question, if contacts with the opposition had been established to get their support for the bill, Qureshi said that he already had a “positive” sitting with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and that consultations will be held with other parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

“I request them [the PPP] to support us as it is in our joint interests and part of the PTI manifesto,” he said, adding that he had also requested the PML-N to support the bill. “I am hopeful they will review their attitude on it [the constitutional amendment bill].”

Speaking about other issues at the press conference, the foreign minister said that entire nation and all the political parties were united on the minimum deterrence, the Kashmir issue and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

“Conspiracies are being hatched to damage the Pakistan-China relations but these [conspiracies] will not succeed,” he said. When asked about the reports of “sham marriages”, he said: “The issue of marriages of some Chinese in Pakistan will be solved soon as both the foreign offices are working on it.”

About the recently-announced amnesty scheme, the minister said that scheme had not been launched to generate revenue as it happened in the past, but “it is aimed at expanding the tax base and make the economy documented”.