ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice on Wednesday witnessed a clear division among members over the proposed creation of a south Punjab province. The committee had met with Senator Farooq Hamid Naek in the chair to discuss proposed amendments to Articles 1, 51, 59, 106, 154, 175A, 198, and 218 of the Constitution.

Senator Aon Abbas, the mover of the bill, proposed these amendments for the creation of ‘south Punjab province’. He argued that 40 per cent population of Punjab lived in southern part of the province. Unfortunately, he deplored, people of these areas lacked basic facilities like health and education. Of the total 50,112 schools in Punjab, only 13,446 are located in the southern parts of the province.

Likewise, he added, out of the total 2,461 basic health units in Punjab, 754 were located in the three divisions of south Punjab. He informed the meeting that people of these areas had to travel all the way to Lahore for their basic needs, adding that Lahore is 850km away from Rahim Yar Khan. He was of the view that a new province, ‘south Punjab,’ should be created on the administrative basis.

JUI-F senator points out move may affect equal representation of provinces in upper house

Members of the committee expressed different opinions on the proposed amendments.

Senator Kamran Murtaza pointed out that the creation of another province will weaken the position of other provinces, especially Balochistan, in the upper house of parliament, where all provinces enjoyed equal representation.

Senator Hamid Khan said since the matter concerned people, there should be a public debate on it.

The committee ratified the nomination of Senator Khan as a member of the board of governors of the Legal and Justice Aid Authority. It referred the matter to the Ministry of Law and Justice to submit a comprehensive report on the bill, keeping in view its constitutional, financial, historical, and parity aspects.

Furthermore, the committee approved the report of the sub-committee, which was constituted to deliberate on the “Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (amen­dment to Article 106)”. The bill, introduced by Senator Manzoor Ahmad and Senator Danesh Kumar, proposed an increase in the general seats of Balochistan Assembly from 51 to 65 due to the vast area of the province.

Besides, the committee deliberated on the “Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2024”. The bill was moved by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri. The chairman termed the bill necessary to address the plight of women and children. The panel constituted a sub-committee to address the drafting lacunae in the bill.

The meeting was attended by Senators Syed Ali Zafar, Shahadat Awan, Kamran Murtaza, Khalil Tahir, Zamir Hussain Ghumro, Hamid Khan, Danesh Kumar, Aon Abbas, Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Law and Justice Secretary Raja Naeem Akbar and senior officials from relevant departments.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2025