BAHAWALPUR, April 5 Former district nazim Tariq Cheema and former minister Syed Tasneem Nawaz Gardezi at a gathering of former UC nazims on Monday announced a movement for the restoration of Bahawalpur province from the platform of Bahawalpur United Front.

In his opening remarks, Tariq Cheema, on whose invitation a majority of former UC nazims belonging to his group had assembled here, thanked them for their cooperation during his two stints.

“In future too, we will move together on country's political matters and local issues like the demand for provincial status for Bahawalpur,” Cheema said. He criticised local MPs for alleged corruption and nepotism.

Cheema claimed that during the previous eight years, he had spent Rs9 billion on uplift projects in the district but the present rulers could not prove corruption of a single rupee against him. “Even now, Shahbaz Sharif is trying to find corruption in files against me.”

Syed Tasneem Nawaz Gardezi claimed that the local population was demanding its right to a separate province which could be restored through an executive order by the premier. In this connection, he claimed that the late Nawab of Bahawalpur Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi-V and Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had reached an agreement that whenever the provinces would be restored, Bahawalpur would get its status as well.

He further claimed that at the time of creation of One Unit, same agreement was made but Yahya Khan violated it.

Gardezi said the first public meeting of this campaign would be held on April 9 at his hometown Khairpur Tamewali. He demanded allotment of Cholistan land and auction of state lands on easy installments to locals.

PML-Q MPA Dr Afzal Khan and ex-CM's adviser Malik Khalid Mahmood Warren through resolutions expressed confidence in the leadership of Tariq Cheema, party chief Shujaat Husain and Pervaiz Elahi.

Meanwhile, former district council chairman Syed Mahmood Akbar Shah demanded continuation of the defunct devolution programme with amendments and holding LG election.

IUB STUDENTS The sit-in by students of the engineering college of the Islamia University Bahawalpur (IUB) outside the Baghdadul Jadid campus entered fourth day on Monday amid the postponement of their examinations by the varsity administration.

The examinations were scheduled to commence from Monday. Talking to Dawn, the striking students demanded restoration of their 33 class-fellows.

Meanwhile, IUB PR office in a release said that negotiations between the students and the administration had failed as the former demanded restoration of their sacked principal along with 33 students.

DEMO Dozens of employees of the government livestock farm, Jugaitpeer near Khairpur Tamewali, about 40km from here, demonstrated in front of the commissioner's office on Monday and demanded action against members of Sadiq Baloch dacoit gang.

Employees said Sadiq's accomplices were harassing them and they had lodged complaints with Yazman police.

A delegation of employees also called on commissioner Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmad, who assured them of redress of their complaints.