Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif on Friday said that he has never demanded to make Karachi a province and there was a mischief behind this proposal which he exposed and now a conspiracy for the division of Sindh has come to the fore. He said that there is no room for the creation of a new province in Sindh and some elements are only showing their hypocritical attitude in this regard. He said that there is no secret as to who is behind the wall chalking in Karachi.
He said that status of Bahawalpur, as a province should be restored as it was a complete province till the establishment of one unit and had had its own provincial assembly. He said that a great disservice was done to Bahawalpur by not restoring its status of the province after the dissolution of one unit. He said that there is no need to form a commission for reviving Bahawalpur as a province. He said that Punjab Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution in this regard while Pakistan Muslim League-N has also demanded of the Federation to give the status of provinces to Hazara and FATA.
He was talking to a representative delegation of Sindhi journalists, which is on a visit to Lahore at his tent office in Iqbal Park at Minar-e-Pakistan. Senior Advisor Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Secretary Information Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani were also present on the occasion. The Sindhi journalists had a pleasant surprise when they saw the Punjab Chief Minister performing his official responsibilities in a tent office. Talking to the delegation, Shahbaz Sharif said the people of all the four provinces of Pakistan have an equal right over the country. He said that this land is a common property of labourers, farmers, students, elders and peasants and Ali Baba Forty Thieves have no right over it. The Chief Minister said that he has come out to save the Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal as a bloody revolution is knocking at its door. He said that corruption, loot and plunder are rampant in the country and the decisions of the courts are being ridiculed which is a serious threat to national solidarity and survival. He said that there is a need to wage a struggle to curb the activities of thieves and dacoits and to foil the nefarious designs of the elements raising the slogans of Jinnahpur and Sindhu Desh.
The Chief Minister further said that unjust attitude is being shown to Punjab province with regard to load shedding of gas and electricity. As his moral responsibility he has set up his office at Minar-e-Pakistan to make it known to the people that he equally shares their problems and grievances. He lamented that while on the one hand people have been deprived of their livelihood and are finding it hard to make both the ends meet whereas water is not available to the masses even for ablution, on the other hand the rulers are enjoying all luxuries of life. He said that billions of rupees are being misappropriated and this situation seems to be the precursor of a bloody revolution. Shahbaz Sharif said that he has been warning the rulers for the last two years but they ridiculed and scoffed at him. He said if practical measures are not taken at this stage the situation might go out of control. The Chief Minister said that Minar-e-Pakistan is the place where Pakistan Resolution was adopted and the Muslims of different parts of the subcontinent resolved to create a new country and Sindh Assembly was the first to respond to this call. He said that history is repeating itself today and there is a dire need to save the country and not to forget the tragedy of December 16, 1971. He said that new provinces should be created not on linguistic basis but on administrative, geographical and valid political grounds. He said that a national commission comprising genuine representatives of the masses should be formed and those should be given representation in the commission whose elders had sacrificed their lives and properties for Pakistan. He said that these people should decide whether there is a need to set up new provinces. He said that Asif Zardari wanted to sow the seed of dissension in Punjab and it was his desire to separate the southern part of Punjab from the province but this conspiracy has been foiled through approval of a resolution in Punjab Assembly. He disclosed that wheat worth millions of rupees which was gifted to Sindh province by PML-N was changed into loan during Governor's Rule but immediately after his reinstatement as the chief minister of Punjab he again declared it a gift for the people of Sindh.