MULTAN, Nov 5: Seraiki nationalist parties have demanded immediate formation of a Seraiki province in two separate All Pakistan Seraiki Parties conferences.

Demanding the formation of the fifth province “Seraikistan”, Seraikistan Qomi Movement president Hameed Asghar Shaheen said that the Seraiki province should be included in the proposed amendments to the Constitution.

He said this while speaking at a conference on ‘Provincial autonomy and Seraiki province’ organized by Pasban People’s Seraiki Party here on Sunday.

The SQM chief said that the suggestion of greater provincial autonomy was meaningless for the Seraiki people because it would not solve their problems for having lack of any administrative unit.

He demanded implementation of 1940 Resolution to resolve differences among the provinces, adding that the election should be held under the 1940 Resolution instead of the 1973 Constitution.

Mr Shaheen said the people of Seraiki belt refused the suggestion of the government for establishing Multan and Bahawalpur provinces as they considered all such suggestions a conspiracy against the forming of a new province.

Hidden hands, he claimed, were promoting MQM in the Seraiki belt for sabotaging their movement while a private Seraiki TV channel was serving the purpose of the MQM. He alleged that the channel was actually damaging the Seraiki language and culture.

Former PML-N MPA Nafees Ansari said the new province would be the only solution to the problems faced by the people living in the Seraiki belt. He proposed Multan to be the capital of the new province.

Haider Gardezi also supported the division of Punjab, as according to him, this would meet the longstanding demand of the Seraiki people.

Hafiz Iqbal Khakwani, adviser to the Punjab chief minister, said that he participated in the conference as an observer and he would inform Pervaiz Elahi and President Pervez Musharraf about all the demands of the Seraiki people.

Malik Zunnorain Bhutta said that the formation of another province could impede violence to a great extent in politics.

Suhail Javed of the Labour Party Pakistan, Ghazi Ahmed Hassan Khokhar of the National Alliance and Saeed Sajid Awan also spoke on the occasion.

Meanwhile, another All Pakistan Seraiki Parties Conference was organised by the Seraiki Soba Movement.

Representatives of 11 Seraiki parties, including M.A Bhutta of Seraiki National Party, Jameel Qureshi advocate of Seraiki Soba Movement, Muhammad Ismail Thaeem of Seraiki Democratic Party, Ghulam Rasool Khan Gurmani of Seraiki Baloch Front, Dr Riaz Hashmi of Seraiki Mazdoor Kisan Party, M Shafi of Seraiki Soba Mahaz, Khwaja Ghulam Fareed Koreja of Seraikistan Qomi Ettehad, Comrade Eshaq Bohar of Seraikistan Qomi Inqalabi Party, Mudasir Nazeer advocate of Jiey Seraiki Tehreek, Attaullah Malik of Awami National Party Seraiki and Malik Shabbir of Seraiki Sojh Wan participated in the conference.