Speaker National Assembly, Dr Fehmida Mirza has constituted a 14-member Commission for creation of two new provinces in Punjab. The 14-member Commission will oversee the issues relating to fair distribution of economic and financial resources, demarcation, allocation/readjustment of seats in the National Assembly, Senate and the provincial assemblies concerned and allocation of seats in the new provinces on the basis of population, including seats of minorities as well as women and other constitutional, legal and administrative matters.
The Commission consists of six members each from National Assembly and Senate while two members will be taken from Punjab Assembly. According to a notification issued by National Assembly Secretariat on Thursday, the Speaker National Assembly has constituted the Commission in pursuance of the message received from the President Asif Ali Zardari and authorised by the National Assembly on July 11, 2012.
The Commission comprises Senators Farhatullah Babar, Syeda Sughra Imam, Haji Muhammad Adeel, Kamil Ali Agha, Malik Muhammad Rafique Rajwana, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, and MNs Arif Aziz Shaikh, Jamshaid Ahmed Dasti, Syed Ali Musa Gilani, Mrs Tahmina Daultana, Chaudhry Saud Majeed and Dr Muhammad Farooq Sattar.
Two members of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab would be included as and when their nominations were received from the Speaker Punjab Assembly. Earlier, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi read out a message received from the President of Pakistan under clause (2) of Article 56 of the Constitution in the Lower House of the Parliament.
According to a paragraph of the Presidential message, in order to address the grievances and to secure the political, administrative and economic interest of the people of the southern region of the province of Punjab and to empower them in this regard, a new province to be known as province of "Janoobi Punjab" be created from the present province of the Punjab and also to revive the earlier status of Bahawalpur as a province.
After receiving the message of the President, the House had given powers to the Speaker to constitute a Commission to look into the matter for creation of new provinces in Punjab. The Speaker in this regard had sought nominees from the Parliamentary parties for the membership of the Commission. The provincial assembly of Punjab had also passed a resolution demanding of the parliament and the federal government to create a new province of Janoobi Punjab and also to revive the earlier status of Bahawalpur as a province.