Punjab divisions: Koh-e-Suleman province demand comes to fore

Tribal chiefs, feudal sardars from South Punjab reject provinces commission.


Abdul Manan September 01, 2012

LAHORE: Following the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s rejection of the new provinces commission, chiefs of various tribes, feudal sardars and activists belonging to South Punjab have come forward questioning the authenticity of the commission and demanding the formation of yet another province,  Koh-e-Suleman, The Express Tribune has learned.

Dera Ghazi Khan (DG Khan), one of two divisions of the southern Punjab, which is dominated and ruled by Baloch chiefs, rejected the parliamentary commission on the formation of South Punjab province and Bahawalpur province and demanded the formation of their own Koh-e-Suleman province.

In the unlikely event that their demands are met, Punjab would be divided into five units: South Punjab, Bahawalpur, Potohar, Central Punjab and Koh-e-Suleman. According to many politicians, demands for new Potohar and Koh-e-Suleman provinces have confused and muddled the cause of two agreed provinces, South Punjab and Bahawalpur.

Chief of Leghari tribe and  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s senior leader Sardar Jamal Khan Leghari and chief of Baloch tribe Qaisrani, PML-N MPA Meer Badshah Khan Qaisrani, have come forward with the demand for a Koh-e-Suleman province.

Their road map is partially supported by other tribes of the belt who have said that if a detailed study on the proposed province is provided, they would be in a better position to decide whether it would be feasible or not.

Jamal Leghari, while talking to The Express Tribune, rejected the commission which is working under the chair of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar and demanded the formation of a new national commission in which the road map for the formation of Koh-e-Suleman province is included.

He said that he had a vision for this unit which would be made up of DG Khan division, Musa Khel (Punjab), Dera Ismail Khan, Tank (K-P) and Barkhan district (Balochistan).

He said that Koh-e-Suleman should not be linked with one race. Rather it would be the area where Seraiki, Baloch, Urdu- and Pashto-speaking people could live in harmony.

Leghari claimed that remittances from resource-rich DG Khan and DI Khan could make the proposed province a successful one. He added that he is busy preparing a draft which provides details on the proposed province and plans on visiting all major stakeholders in the area and sharing it with them.

He said that all five big rivers meet in DG Khan, while hill torrents are sufficient for this unit to not only generate electricity to fulfill the demand of the area, but also to sell it outside the province

Qaisrani has already launched a movement in the Punjab Assembly trying to convince the lawmakers of the viability of the area as a separate province.

Chief of Dareeshak tribe Sardar Nasrullah Khan Dareeshak said that first the commission should carve out two provinces Bahawalpur and South Punjab and consider other provinces later.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2012.

COMMENTS (10)

O B Server | 11 years ago | Reply

How about another province Jinnah-Nagar where one could live according to Jinnah's vision ref. Augt 11 speech!.

Mazari | 11 years ago | Reply Jamal Leghari knows that the days of the Sardars are numbered. With the creation of a South Punjab province their Lahore based domination will end and the poor people will rise up the socioeconomic and literacy ladder. Same is the case with the rest of the sardars.
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