Punjab wants a halt to proceedings of the commission on new provinces

Seeking a halt to the proceedings of the commission on two new federating units, Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan will dispatch a letter to National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza.

Earlier, Speaker NA Dr Fehmida Mirza formed a fourteen-member parliamentary commission to form guidelines for creating two new provinces, Bahawalpur and South Punjab.

According to the media reports, three points have been raised in the said letter in first of which Speaker Punjab Assembly asked the Speaker National Assembly stop the proceedings immediately.

In the second point, he complained to Fehmida Mirza of not sharing him the official copy of her directions to form a commission of President Asif Ali Zardari’s reference.

Thirdly, the speaker said that the resolution of the provincial assembly on two new provinces called for a discussion on the formation of other provinces in the country as well.

He was of the opinion that a truly nation commission comprising all stakeholders should be created if they are committed to resolve the issue.

On the other hand the lawmakers from Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) in Punjab Assembly have protested in a bid to force the speaker to nominate two MPAs for the national commission on new federating units.

In the first phase, the opposition members reminded the treasury about ruling party’s commitment to south Punjab and Bahawalpur people enshrined in a unanimous resolution passed by the house for creation of separate provinces for them.

In the second phase, they asked lawmakers of South Punjab from ruling party to join hands with it for waging a joint struggle for a common goal.

The opposition members stared staging protests in the house after the speaker refused to entertain their request.

Later, an ensuing sloganeering contest was observed between the two sides, in which both used fowl language against each other.

The opposition members while encircling the speaker’s seat demanded him to fulfill his duty and nominate two members for the national commission.

Although the speaker, who is considered custodian of the house, tried to appease the opposition, he failed to do so.

He observed, “This is a matter between me and the NA speaker and you (opposition) have nothing to do with it”.

However, the opposition members were of the opinion that the speaker wrote the letter only for face saving.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Aug 28 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.