SIALKOT: The district bar association has demanded through a unanimous resolution that Sialkot should be elevated to division given its industrial significance and geographical importance.

DBA President Chaudhry Muhammad Raza Toor addressing a meeting at the district bar on Monday said the lawyers and other residents of the district had been demanding divisional headquarters status for Sialkot since long.

Stressing the city’s significance, he said that Sialkot had an international airport, a dry port and the Export Processing Zone (EPZ).

He added the city’s share in the country’s exports was the largest after Karachi, while it had one of the oldest cantonment as well. He said Sialkot had been earning foreign exchequer to the tune of $2.5 billion annually, besides playing a pivotal role in strengthening the national economy.

Mr Toor said that granting division’s status to Sialkot would also help resolve long-standing issues of the local lawyers.

The bar urged Prime Minister Imran Khan, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to declare Sialkot a division comprising Sialkot, Narowal and Gujrat districts.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2019