ISLAMABAD: A meeting of a parliamentary panel on Wednesday ended inconclusive over a bill that sought the establishment of the South Punjab province – a long-standing demand of people of southern Punjab.
Multan, Bahawalpur, and Dera Ghazi Khan are the three administrative divisions that make up the southern Punjab region, while Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Vehari, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Rajanpur, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalnagar are among the region’s 11 districts.
The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice, which met here with Farooq H Naek in the chair, discussed the proposed amendments to Articles 1, 51, 59, 106, 154, 175A, 198, and 218 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Senator Aon Abbas, the mover of the bill, proposed these amendments for the creation of a new province, “South Punjab”.
Abbas, a senior of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) maintained that South Punjab is home to 40 percent of Punjab’s total population, but its residents lack access to essential services such as healthcare and education.
He said that out of Punjab’s total 50,112 primary, middles, high and higher secondary schools, only 13,446 are situated in South Punjab.
In the same breath, he continued that out of total 2,461 basic health units (BHUs) in Punjab, only 754 are located in the three divisions of South Punjab, which reflect the state’s step-motherly treatment with the region.
He said that people of South Punjab have to travel to Lahore, which is 850 kilometres away from Rahim Yar Khan, for their basic needs.
Given all this injustice, he insisted that the only viable solution was to establish the new administrative province of South Punjab as the people of the area could no longer tolerate any more step-motherly treatment.
The views of the committee members on the proposed amendments were divided as some supported the move, while others expressed disinterest without citing any valid explanation.
In an intriguing proposal, Senator Kamran Murtaza of JUI-F claimed that the creation of a new province would weaken the position of other provinces especially Balochistan in Senate, which gives equal representation.
However, Senator Hamid Khan of PTI proposed a public debate on the issue, saying it is the primary concern of the people of South Punjab, which needs to be addressed.
The committee referred the matter to the Ministry of Law and Justice to submit a comprehensive report on the bill, keeping in view the constitutional, financial, historical, and parity aspects of the bill.
Furthermore, the committee approved the report of the sub-committee, which was constituted to deliberate on “The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Amendment of Article 106).”
The bill, introduced by Senator Manzoor Ahmad and Senator Danesh Kumar, proposed an increase in the general seats of the Balochistan provincial assembly from 51 to 65 due to the vast area of the province.
Besides, the committee deliberated on “The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2024.” The bill was moved by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri.
The chair termed the bill necessary to address the plight of women and children. However, it constituted a sub-committee to address the drafting lacunae in the bill.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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