DERA GHAZI KHAN: Difference of opinion among the stakeholders and local legislators, belonging to the PTI, over the establishment of the newly proposed Taunsa district is the main cause of the delay in issuance of the notification of the new district, sources told Dawn.

On the other hand, the residents of Taunsa are concerned at the delay in the notification of their new district despite the announcement of the establishment of new administrative units in Punjab.

On Oct 14, Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi had given the approval to updating the status of five tehsils into districts, namely Taunsa Sharif, Murree, Wazirabad, Talagang and Kot Addu.

Speaking to Dawn, the stakeholder MPAs, Javed Akhtar Lound and Saifuddin Khosa, both respected figures in their tribes, have alleged that the former chief minister Usman Buzdar is behind the delay in the establishment of the new district of Taunsa Sharif as he wants to include Tuman Lound tribal area, having population of 3,700 people with 850 votes, in the new district, which is unacceptable to the Lound and Khosa tribes.

Usman Buzdar wants Tuman Lound tribal area in new dist; Lounds, Khosas oppose it

Javed Lound says the residents of Tuman Lound and Shadan Lound can accept becoming a part of the new district on the condition of the grant of tehsil status to Shadan Lound; otherwise, they will like to remain in the district Dera Ghazi Khan. He terms the demand of Usman Buzdar to divide the Lound-dominated area for his own political whims insane.

Mr Buzdar has made another demand that the whole tribal area tehsil of Koh Sulaiman should be made a part of the new district, which is not acceptable to the Leghari, Khosa and Lound tribes.

MPA Javed Lound says that during the meeting of stakeholders in Lahore, Chief Minister Parvez Elahi had got annoyed over the insane demands of Usman Buzdar and the meeting ended without any decision on the announcement of the new district.

Talking to Dawn, Punjab Finance Minister Mohsin Leghari has termed the proposal of inclusion of the whole tribal area of tehsil Koh Sulaiman into the new district illogical as it would increase problems for the people of far-off the Tuman Leghari and Khosa areas if they become a part of the new Taunsa district.

MNA Khawaja Shiraz Mehmood has demanded issuance of early notification of Taunsa district with the upgrade of Wahowa town to the tehsil level. He says the notification is the demand of the people of Taunsa and obstacles to it should be removed. Without mentioning any names, he says that those creating hurdles to the establishment of the Taunsa district are hostile to the people.

Commenting on the issue, former naib nazim of Dera Ghazi Khan district, Javed Iqbal Qaisrani, says all stakeholders want to secure their vote bank by including the areas of their choice in the new district, which is the cause of the lack of consensus.

Jaafar Buzdar, an elder of Buzdar tribe and brother of former CM Usman Buzdar, says all the rest of stakeholders, except his brother (Usman), are creating hurdles to the establishment of new district of Taunsa.

“The areas of Tuman Lound, namely Zinda Pir and Shaheed, are dominated by the Buzdars while the Lounds themselves don’t reside there. That’s why we are demanding inclusion of these areas in the new district,” he explains.

“If the other stakeholders don’t agree with this suggestion, then the whole tribal area of tehsil Koh Sulaiman should be part of new district with its offices in Dera Ghazi Khan in continuation of the tradition as during the last two hundred years, the people of the whole tribal area used to come to Dera Ghazi Khan city to visit political assistant.”

Mr Jaafar suggests that instead of legislators-cum-stakeholders, the people of the area should be consulted whether they want to be included in the new district or not.

He says that a notification of establishment of new district Taunsa Sharif, comprising two tehsils – Taunsa Sharif and Koh Sulaiman – was issued on April 1 and asks if the stakeholders did not oppose the notification then, why they are opposing it now.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2022