Pakistan government presents bill for establishment of South Punjab province

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government on Friday presented a constitutional amendment bill to the National Assembly speaker that sought the establishment of the South Punjab province, the Pakistani state media reported. 
The southern Punjab region comprises three administrative divisions — Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan. In total, the region has 11 districts, including Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Vehari, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Rajanpur, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalnagar. 
Over the decades, people of southern Punjab, a relatively impoverished region as compared to districts in north and central Punjab, have complained of being neglected in the division of resources and called for greater autonomy. 
Successive governments in Pakistan have supported the idea of the South Punjab province, but none could go ahead with the promise. 
On Friday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who himself hails from Multan, presented the constitutional amendment bill for the establishment of the South Punjaba province to National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported. 
“On the request of the foreign minister, the speaker directed to make the bill part of the agenda of the House on Monday,” the report read. 
The establishment of the South Punjab province was part of the election manifesto of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and today, the government fulfilled yet another promise made with the people of South Punjab, the report quoted Qureshi as saying. 
The development comes at a time when Prime Minister Imran Khan is facing a no-confidence move by the opposition and appears to be an attempt to ease pressure on him. 
Earlier in the day, Speaker Qaiser adjourned a National Assembly session without taking up the no-trust motion after prayers were offered for a lawmaker who had passed away recently. The opposition filed the motion on March 8. The next session is now scheduled for Monday, March 28. 
Speaking to media persons later, Qureshi asked opposition parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), to support the constitutional amendment bill that envisaged the establishment of the South Punjab province. 
This was a longstanding demand of the local people and it would further strengthen the federation of Pakistan, he added.