2 senators support call for Bahawalpur province
ISLAMABAD, July 30: Two senators — one each from Balochistan and Fata — announced on Saturday their support for Bahawalpur province and urged the government to meet the demand of the region through an executive order, while former information minister Mohammed Ali Durrani sought President Asif Ali Zardari's help on the issue.
At a press conference, Senator Durrani accused Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani of trying to create “unrest and anarchy” on the linguistic basis in southern Punjab only to see his son as chief minister. He said that President Zardari being the symbol of federation should take notice of the prime minister's action.
Chairman of the Senate's Standing Committee on Safron Hafiz Abdul Rasheed, Senator Humayun Khan Mandokhel from Balochistan and Bahawalpur High Court Bar Association Secretary Aurangzaib were present on the occasion.
Senator Rasheed said that restoration of Bahawalpur province was a unanimous demand and urged the government to issue an executive order to fulfil the dream of the people of the area during the holy month of Ramazan.
He urged the prime minister to restore the Bahawalpur province and make Fata a province with the name of 'Kabailistan'.
Senator Mandokhel said he supported the demand for Bahawalpur province on behalf of the Pakhtun people of Balochistan and his brother Jafar Khan Mandokhel, a member of the Balochistan Assembly.
Senator Durrani said that people of Bahawalpur were united under the leadership of Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi and they were ready to render any sacrifice to achieve the goal. He said that people of Bahawalpur had secured support of leaders and parliamentarians from Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata.