LAHORE – Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was committed to making South Punjab and Bahawalpur provinces, as evidenced by the passage of a resolution in this regard in the Punjab Assembly.
The Punjab CM, who has recently been elected as the president of PML-N, said this in a series of tweets: “Taking governance to the doorstep of the people has been a hallmark of our politics. Efficient delivery of services is possible through empowerment of the people at the grassroots.”
https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/985795844866703360
He further said, “We will not play politics on the slogan of new provinces and feed people on false promises. However, if the masses give PML-N a mandate, our commitment to making South Punjab and Bahawalpur new provinces is evidenced by passage of the resolution by Punjab Assembly.”
https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/985795976576323584
The PML-N president said that the creation of a new province is subject to its approval in the concerned provincial assembly and is of the view that ‘governance’ is the key factor in managing a province, which the party is already capable of doing far better than what others have achieved. However, the mandate will decide if the people are going to hand over this responsibility to PMLN in 2018 general elections, he said.
Shehbaz Sharif has been visiting various areas of Pakistan to meet party workers, and discuss how they can collectively make efforts to properly address and solve issues of the PML-N. During his last week’s visit to Peshawar and Karachi, he vowed to repeat the ‘party’s achievements in Punjab’ in the other provinces in Pakistan, if the PML-N is elected again.
Thirty-two percent of Punjab’s total population constitutes South Punjab, and an approximate 36% of Punjab’s development budget is kept for Southern Punjab’s growth.
The Punjab CM during his Karachi visit stated that it was their party that passed a resolution for the formation of new provinces. However, he said that the process should be carried out with consultations with all the stakeholders.
