CM Buzdar forms 12-member body on south Punjab creation

E-Paper | July 25, 2026

MULTAN: Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has constituted a 12-member executive council for the creation of south Punjab province.

According to a letter issued on Oct 22, former MNA Chaudhry Tahir Bashir Cheema is the chairman of the council, while its members include Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Khan Mazari, Minister for Food Samiullah Chaudhry, MPAs Sahibzada Ghazain Abbasi, Syed Ali Abbas Shah, Sardar Shahabuddin Khan Seehar, Sardar Javed Akhtar Khan Lund and Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmed Khan, former MPA Mina Ehsan Leghari, agriculturalist Sardar Ali Raza Dareshak and three former civil bureaucrats, including Anwar Ahmed Khan and Javed Iqbal Awan. Athar Hussain Khan is the secretary of the council.

“The chief minister has been pleased to desire for constitution of an executive council on the creation of south Punjab province. The council will be on behalf of the chief minister,” the notification stated.

Governor says nation will soon get good news about new province

The council will identify all possible issues pertaining to the creation of a separate province and engage all relevant departments to provide assistance where required, address all legislative matters concerning the creation of the province with the support of law and parliamentary affairs department, engage all relevant stakeholders to muster their support for the task, develop consensus, coordinate all matters with the federal committee on the creation of south Punjab province and any other ancillary matter related to the purpose.

“The council, in pursuance of the aforementioned terms of reference, shall seek institutional support, information and expert advice from all through any provincial department, public sector organisation or local government in the Punjab. The council shall have its office at the chief minister’s office, which shall be responsible for provision of necessary support to the council as and when required. In view of the forgoing, it is requested that further necessary action(s) in the matter, including notification of the aforementioned council, may kindly be taken,” the letter issued by the secretary to chief minister (coordination), Dr Muhammad Shoaib Akbar, stated.

Earlier, efforts to establish a sub-secretariat in Multan had been initiated on the directions of former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif to counter the demand for a south Punjab province.

Former governor Malik Rafique Rajwana was made the head of the committee that also included some parliamentarians, serving provincial secretaries and retired bureaucrats hailing from south Punjab and a retired judge.

Talking to Dawn, the former governor said that a list of all government employees belonging to south Punjab had been prepared.

“It was decided that special secretaries of important departments, including irrigation, agriculture, education, health and communication, will be deputed at the sub-secretariat,” he recalled.

He further said that recommendations were prepared on the directions of Mr Sharif and a draft handed over to relevant quarters. “But before any concrete measure was taken, the government got stuck in the worsening political affairs,” he said.

Mr Rajwana said that the purpose behind establishing the sub-secretariat was to counter the difficulties the people of south Punjab faced by visiting Lahore for their official work relating to major departments.

Meanwhile, incumbent Governor Chaudhry Sarwar has said that people will soon hear good news regarding the creation of south Punjab province.

He said this while addressing a gathering on Friday at Lal Sohanra National Park, about 35 kilometres from Bahawalpur, where he also planted a sapling in connection with the Green and Clean Pakistan campaign.

The governor claimed that the government would definitely establish south Punjab province and further claimed that under his party’s rule a huge change in the country would come about during the next two years when there would be no distinction between the poor and rich.

Punjab CM spokesperson Dr Shahbaz Gill says creation of south Punjab province warranted a rigorous process and could not be done haphazardly and added that no time-line could be given.

He was talking to newsmen in Lahore.

He said the committee, led by Tahir Bashir Cheema, would consult stakeholders and the government would also get their consent.

Majeed Gill from Bahawalpur and Mansoor Malik from Lahore also contributed to this report.

Published in Dawn, October 27th , 2018

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Shakeel Ahmed is the Dawn Newspaper's Multan correspondent.

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M. Saeed

Oct 27, 2018 12:49pm

CM Buzdar is already a South Punjab man. He should act in the direct interest of his area rather than touting for another big den of corruption to be created.

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AbdulRahman

Oct 27, 2018 01:09pm

In order to develop Baluchistan and Sindh properly - the division is a must. In case of large provinces, a proper co-ordination and attention is likely not possible because 1. The concerned ministry cannot plan for the development with the limited budget. 2. Cannot address the issues as they are wide 3. Cannot follow to all the issues as the issues are more and further it delays to tackle them. So, divide Baluchistan by naming East, Central and West Baluchistan with the proper consensus of the Baluchi people and political leaders. This will also help to monitor the exploration sites and curb the corruption and militancy with proper planning. Further, East Sindh and West Sindh should also be considered.

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Umar Daud

Oct 27, 2018 05:23pm

We want south Punjab province in 90 days as promised.

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Adi

Oct 27, 2018 05:40pm

Sinch is much smaller and yet under developed! Its never thr size but the management which ensures development. Division is not a magical act which will counter poor governance. Infact, south punjab will loose access to basic facilities which are concentrated in cities of north punjab.

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Nawaz

Oct 28, 2018 08:41pm

When country is facing a financial crunch, careful planning and financial management and radical reformation of administrative and local govt systems can help fulfil the promise of a new province. Governors whose offices are relics of Raj should be replaced with federal ministers for inter-provincial coordination for all the provinces to serve as bridges between federal govt and provinces. In UK, there are Secretaries of state for devolved administrations: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A consensus may be developed to abolish thr office of Governor through a constitutional amendment. Provincial legislation may be ratified by president instead of Governors. In Scotland, a bill becomes law once it is agreed by Scottish Parliament and then by the Queen. Empowerment of local govts will significantly reduce costs of running provincial govts. PAS roles in the current form should be done away with and brought under local govts to implement the local govt laws and policies.

Recommend 0

Nawaz

Oct 28, 2018 08:42pm

Existing provincial ministries should be reviewed and reduced or merged with other ministries to save resources. For example, the ministry of women development may be merged with the Education and Local government and communities ministries with the addition of special women development wings in those ministries. As the provincial ministers and their respective ministries are responsible for the performance of their departments, there is no need for the Chief Minister’s inspection team which is a burden on the exchequer. Surplus staff from the Governor’s secretariat, Chief Minister’s inspection team and redundant ministries may be posted in the new southern Punjab province.

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Nawaz

Oct 28, 2018 08:46pm

To reduce costs and bureaucracy and to increase efficiency, decentralisation of the Police department should be piloted in the new province, with the independent Police authorities being set up at the divisional levels under the provincial Home department. These Police authorities should have their own budgets and performance targets. They should be expected to develop close working relationships between them and share best practice. They should also work closely with the local governments to maintain law and order. There shouldn't be any need for IG role4s in the new reformed police set up.

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