MULTAN, Jan 12: The Lahore High Court Bar Association, Multan bench, has demanded a separate province comprising the areas falling in southern part of the Punjab and an independent high court.

This was demanded at a bar association meeting held here on Monday to discuss the separation of Pakpattan district from the Multan bench and its attachment to the principal seat of the LHC.

Rejecting the disaffiliation of Pakpattan with the Multan bench, the meeting also criticized the decision that the monetary disputes and corporate matters of over Rs5 million would now be heard only at the principal seat. Both the decisions were against the interest of the Multan bench, alleged a press release of the bar association issued after the meeting.

The release further alleged that not only the LHC chief but the Punjab government was also playing in the hands of a 'particular' group which had always hatched conspiracies against the people of south Punjab. The decisions had endangered the very existence of the benches therefore the bar association demanded their withdrawal, the release urged.

It was vowed in the release that the association would invite people from all walks of life in its next meeting to launch a collective struggle for a separate province and a high court.

The bar association warned the LHC chief justice and the Punjab government that if they did not withdraw the decisions within 24 hours the lawyers of Multan would observe a strike on Wednesday to press for the acceptance of their demands.

The meeting also criticized the detachment of Lodhran, Sahiwal and Pakpattan districts from the Multan circle of anti-corruption establishment and their attachment with the Bahawalpur and Lahore circles.