ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday wrote a letter to Speaker National Assembly Fehmida Mirza asking her to form a 14-member commission to submit recommendations for the creation of new province of South Punjab and revival of provincial status for Bahawalpur.

Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi read out the letter to the members of the lower house during the session of the National Assembly on Wednesday and said that the assembly secretariat had received the letter from the presidency after which the speaker has now formed a commission.

The National Assembly on 3rd May, 2012, had passed a resolution to the affect while earlier the provincial assembly of Punjab had also passed a similar resolution demanding the parliament and the federal government to create a new province of South Punjab and also to revive the earlier status of Bahawalpur as a province.

“In order to implement the aforesaid resolutions and before a process is initiated to amend the constitution in terms of Article 239 thereof it is expedient that a commission may be constituted comprising of six members from the Senate to be nominated by the chairman, six members from National Assembly to be nominated by the speaker and two members from the provincial assembly of Punjab to be nominated by the speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab,” said the letter of the president.

“The commission shall look into the issues relating to the fair distribution of economic and financial resources, demarcation, allocation/readjustment of seats in the National Assembly, Senate and the concerned provincial assembly and allocation of seats in the new province on basis of population, including seats of minorities and women and other constitutional, legal and administrative matters.

"The commission will submit its report to the speaker as well as to the prime minster within thirty days of its notification in the official gazette, which will be followed by initiation of the process of amendment of the constitution," says the letter.