PESHAWAR, Jan 17: Awami National Party's parliamentary leader in the Senate, Haji Mohammad Adeel, has said that after the enactment of 18th and 19th amendments there is no provision in the constitution for creation of new provinces in the country.

Referring to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's bill in the National Assembly for the creation of Seraiki and Hazara provinces, he said that a new province could neither be created by dint of Article 239 (4) nor by the provincial assemblies and the parliament. He said that this article was not concerning creation of new provinces, but for limitation of provinces.

Mr Adeel said this while talking to the ANP workers here on Tuesday. The ANP leader said that for creation of new provinces some drastic changes would have to be made in the constitution and dozens of articles reframed, which was not possible in the present political divide.

He alleged that the MQM was trying to pit the tribal Pakhtuns against those of settied areas. Besides, he claimed that the MQM had started work on dividing Pakhtuns and was trying to pitch Hazara Pakhtuns against nonHazara Pakhtuns in Karachi.

The senator said that the MQM was doing so because Pakhtuns had successfully challenged them in its former 'no-go areas' in Karachi. He alleged that the MQM created an environment of terror in Karachi with the help of martial law governments and had murdered thousands of innocent people, kidnapped countless others for ransom and extracted money from people of Karachi through use of force.

Mr Adeel said that Pakhtuns had raised the Dag of ANP in Karachi and held a historic public meeting at the seaside. He said that the chief justice was stopped by the MQM in Karachi on May 12, 2007 while 50 Pakhtuns were killed on the occasion.

The senator said that the MQM was trying to sow the seed of discord among Pakhtuns of Hazara and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), adding that it would not succeed in its nefarious designs. He questioned the tabling of 'unconstitutional' bill in the National Assembly and objected to its referral to the standing committee. -Bureau Report