ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi termed appointment of senior bureaucrats to South Punjab Secretariat by the Punjab government, 'a major milestone' towards creation of the new province.

In a message on Twitter, he said "this achievement is testament to our commitment to fulfill our promise to the people. I congratulate the people of southern Punjab and I thank my prime minister for his vision and support."

The tweet by the foreign minister comes a day after the Punjab government made the South Punjab Civil Secretariat functional by appointing 10 administrative secretaries.

Earlier this month, Qureshi spoke regarding the creation of South Punjab province, saying that initially two secretariats would be established at Multan and Bahawalpur.

Qureshi had said two secretaries would be appointed at the secretariats and no file would go to Lahore for a decision. The Punjab chief minister had already altered the rules of business in that regard, he had said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020