BAHAWALPUR: The emergence of another board on Saturday inscribed with address of the Chief Minister’s Office outside the Bahawalpur Circuit House (Ahmedpur East Highways) came as a surprise for the locals.

The CM’s office was also declared the Civil Secretariat, South Punjab.

Earlier, a board with words “Civil Secretariat South Punjab” and office of Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) was installed at the Circuit House the other day.

The local population was caught by surprise that in the absence of the South Punjab chief minister, how his office would function and serve the people seeking justice from him. It is not yet known whether the CM’s office here would be virtually working here or CM Sardar Muhammad Usman Buzdar will have his sittings here occasionally as he could not so far pay a visit to Bahawalpur during current month.

Officials of the local administration declined to comment on it when Dawn approached them for their version on the update regarding the establishment of CM’s office and the civil secretariat at the circuit house. In these circumstances, the public circles observe, this CM’s secretariat board seems a joke with the local people demanding a separate province here.

The public is divided on the decades-long demand for a separate provincial status for Bahawalpur. Some of the supportersof this demand have now shown flexibility saying that the local population should happily accept from the government what it is offering it in the shape of the ACS office and the CM’s office (about which the confusion still persists). However, the staunch supporters of province – a demand for which they have been making struggle for the last 40 years – have rejected the government’s offer in the shape of ACS or CM’s offices here.

The government’s move has even divided the ruling PTI as one of the groups including former minister Samiullah Chaudhry has favoured the decision to establish AC’s secretariat while the other group has flatly refused to compromise. They consider this secretariat issue as the first move to carve out the much-demanded South Punjab province in which the rights of Bahawalpur would be safeguarded while the other rival section including federal minister for housing and works Tariq Cheema belonging to the PML-Q and comprising the heads of a number of pro-province movement organizations are of the firm opinion that government’s this step is aimed at depriving the Bahawalpur of its due rights in every sector.

A majority of people in Bahawalpur is against the establishment of South Punjab secretariat and demands separate province for Bahawalpur.

Meanwhile, according to sources in the administration here, the Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) has announced 96 administrative posts for which Rs 600 million have also been allocated. The posts included one of secretary, two of additional and six of deputy secretaries.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2020