July 13, 2006	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 16, 1427

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KARACHI, July 12: Former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has again floated his proposal to divide the Punjab into three provinces in order to create harmony between the federation and its units.

This very principle was also applied when the provinces of West Pakistan were merged into ‘one unit’ for establishing a balance of power with former East Pakistan, said Mr Jamali while talking to newsmen after meeting Pir Pagara at Kingri House here on Wednesday.

He said that in an interview to a private TV channel some time back, he had suggested the creation of three provinces within the Punjab - Pothohar, Seraiki and central Punjab - for maintaining proper balance in the country and allowing the federation to function smoothly.

Quoting the example of India, he said the country had 14 provinces at the time of independence “but today it has 33, even then the federation and democracy are functioning smoothly.”

The former prime minister reiterated the need for dialogue on the situation in Balochistan “where all those being killed are Pakistanis and those using force are also Pakistanis”.

A former secretary general of the ruling PML, Mr Jamali said he was not a candidate for the post again. However, he said he was in favour of holding elections in the party, and would like to see all provinces getting equal representation in the executive council, the working council and all other committees of the party.

On the ARD ultimatum to President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to quit by July 31 or face a no-confidence motion, he said due to his brother’s death, he had been away from active politics for two months. Just on Tuesday, he said, he left his hometown for Karachi, and would fly to Islamabad on Thursday to meet party leaders, the prime minister and possibly the president.

Mr Jamali made it clear that if there was any move against the president, he would not be a party to it.

However, he said in case a motion was tabled against the prime minister in the house, he would take a decision at that time.

When asked if there was a political crisis in Sindh, he said his information was restricted to newspaper reports in this regard.

To a question, he said he had come to Karachi to seek the blessings of Pir Pagara as per the tradition of his elders.

“However, we also exchanged views on the situation prevailing in the country,” he added.