LAHORE: The parliamentarians elected from Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan districts have been urged to support the cause of reinstating the status of province for the defunct Bahawalpur state.

The members of the Senate, National Assembly as well as Punjab Assembly who got elected from the former princely state of Bahawalpur must work for winning the status of a province for the three districts that constituted the defunct state, Tehreek-i-Istiqlal President Rehmat Khan Wardag demanded here on Sunday.

The party has been suggesting dividing the country into 20 provinces since 1979 and since then it has been nominating a separate provincial chief for the region.

Lauding the efforts being made by federal minister Tariq Bashir Cheema for the cause, Mr Wardag said all other elected representatives must join him, making the carving out of Bahawalpur province as their priority and that compromising on the cause would be in fact betrayal with the people of the region.

He said the written agreement struck with the then Nawab of Bahawalpur while merging the state into the One Unit of the defunct West Pakistan, the state had pledged the region would be given the status of a province whenever the provinces would be restored but the promise was not fulfilled and the region was made a part of Punjab province.

“Bahawalpur was kept subservient to Lahore for many decades and now conspiracies are being hatched to give it under control of Multan. There’s talk of Seraiki province or south Punjab province but not of Bahawalpur province. That’s condemnable.”

Mr Wardag said Seraiki or south Punjab province could be created separately but not at the cost of Bahawalpur.

He urged the masses of the formerly princely state to keep an eye on their local political leadership and vote for those only in future who’re sincere to the creation of Bahawalpur province.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2019