During the 2018 general elections, the PTI secured crucial victories in South Punjab vowing to end the reservations of the region, usher in a new era of development, and fulfill the long-cherished dream to create a separate province.
The party took a step forward to fulfill the promises made to the people of the region in line with its manifesto. The government will soon table a bill in the National Assembly for the creation of the South Punjab province. The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan who is determined to see the region develop along with the rest of Punjab province.
The government will set up a secretariat for southern Punjab to resolve problems that requires over Rs3.5 billion and 1350 extra posts. There will be also separate secretariat established in Bahawalpur as well. An additional chief secretary and additional inspector general will also start working from South Punjab in April having offices in Multan and Bahawalpur respectively.
PM Imran Khan has decried the lopsided development across Punjab. During the previous era of PML-N, over ninety percent of the developmental budget was being spent on Lahore. The provincial capital was progressing to boost the Sharif brother’s popularity but the rest of the province was regressing. This gave an opportunity to the PTI to snatch the region from the PML-N.
Usman Buzdar, a political novice who hails from South Punjab, was chosen as the chief minister. He has vowed to develop the region and spend at least 30 percent of development funds there. Many other party heavyweights notably Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Jehangir Tareen, and Khusro Bakhtiar are also from the region.
The PTI realised from the onset that South Punjab will be the trump card to power given the influence of PML-N in the rest of the province. A long battle lies ahead as a political consensus will be required to pass the bill from the National Assembly. A two-thirds majority is required to pass the proposed bill which seems an uphill task as many would oppose such a move believing it might open a new pandora box.
South Punjab remains a deprived, impoverished region and one of the poorest in the country. It is imperative area progresses to end the reservation of the region. A political and national consensus should be reached before the creation of the South Punjab province.
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