LAHORE:
Despite Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa’s claims to the contrary, the Pakistan Peoples Party appears to have done no work on Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s proposal to create a new province in the Seraiki belt in southern Punjab, sources told The Express Tribune.
President Asif Ali Zardari had formed a 20-member committee to formulate a new PPP manifesto for the 2013 elections and asked them to incorporate Gilani’s proposal for a new province in south Punjab, which he had made in a speech near Multan on March 13.
The president had convened a meeting of the committee in April where he asked them to expedite work on the proposals for new provinces in the country.
PPP sources told The Express Tribune, however, that no further meetings have been convened of the committee nor has any work been done to create a detailed proposal. The sources added that the committee appears to be dysfunctional.
The internal disarray stands in sharp contrast to the claims made by the PPP leaders, including the prime minister. The Punjab governor, for example, said on Tuesday that the PPP
was almost ready with a detailed proposal for a south Punjab province. The PPP lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly have already sought to initiate debate in the provincial legislature on the matter.
Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar, who is also a member of the manifesto committee, declined to comment on the matter.
Another member of the committee who wished to remain anonymous said that, in the two meetings that have taken place thus far, it has been decided that only two lines about the Seraiki province would be included in the manifesto. He said that further details about the new province would be decided at future meetings.
The committee member claimed that the president had asked the prime minister to submit his initial proposal, though he claimed Gilani had not yet done so and has not convened the next session of the committee either.
The manifesto committee is a virtual who’s who of the ruling party. It includes former law minister Babar Awan, Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Khuhro, Textile Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin, disgraced former religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Sherry Rehman, Senator Waqar Ahmed Khan, and Taj Haider, among others.
Professor Ejaz Hussain Gilani, who is also a member of the manifesto committee, said that a lot of issues need to be worked out, including the boundaries of the new province as well as whether a Hazara province should also be supported.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2011.
COMMENTS (11)
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Lol @ Mohajirs asking for a spearate "sooba". Dudes we didn't beg you to come to Pakistan and dwell in certain areas of choice and opportunity. Siraki Province, if made, will be comprised of 3 South Punjab divisions that are larger in population and area compared to rest of Punjab. And I am not against Mohajirs or why they came to Pakistan, but awarding a province to Sirakis isn't similar to making "Altaf-Pur" or "Jinnah Nagar". And FYI, Siraiki belt was there before Pakistan came into being.
@Nasir jamshed:
These are the members of the manifesto committee not the committee for creation of provinces. That matter is being undertaken entirely by lawmakers from Punjab.
@muhammad naveed:
The migrant community should first table such a demand through its elected representatives. Also, the migrants are not a majority in Karachi but the largest ethnic group.
PPP are bent on making Pakistan into Rwanda or Burundi.
Pakistan was made on the basis of these 4 provinces electing to become Pakistan. Wali Khan’s bid to make NWFP part of India was rejected. But ANP’s ethnic politics , Zardari’s Sind card, Gilani’s Saraki Subha (although Gilani prefers to lives in Lahore), Altaf’s superiority complex about Mahajirs, etc. are now destroying Pakistan. Guess what? The most corrupt and unethical politicians are playing the ethnic card… You know what they say: ‘nationalism is the last refuge for a scoundrel’.
from which angle are the people who came to karachi in 1947 are muhajirs now..?? . born in pakistan education in pakistan marriage in pakistan employed in pakistan pakistani birth certificate pakistani passport pakistani CNIC celebrate 14 aug.. elect people to National A and Provincial A
then how should we call u muhajir? dont all the above points.. point towards being a pakistani?? people emigrated from indian side to pakistani punjab also..now they call themselves punjabis rather than muhajirs.. if u want a province then claim it...but not by the tag of muhajir sobha.. time is for uniting , not dividing!
mr.zardari is the president of the whole of pakistan,so why does he wear an ethnic symbol when he goes overseas where he is representing the whole of pakistan? you don't see nawaz sharif wearing a pugree when he meets foreign dignitarties ,then why does zardari instead of representing entire pakistan represents only one particular community?
the govt. should declare the formation of a new province out of sindh this ramazan.it doesn't have to be named 'jinnahpur' if that name is too controversial but whatever its name it is high time that the urdu speaking people got a province of our own.
The urdu,memoni,gujrati speaking people of karachi deserve to have a province of our own.we've built this city up from a fishing village and just like the ppp is announcing a new saraika province we would like that on this 14th august the ppp should announce a new province in sindh also.
ppp has the majority in the sindh assembly so first it should announce the creation of a new province for the migrant community in sindh made out of karachi and hyederabad. ppp should worry about breaking up punjab later,first it should declare a new province in sindh.