ISLAMABAD: Senior PML-N leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi has asked the leadership of his own party to announce division of Punjab into four provinces.
Taking part in a debate on the Karachi situation in the National Assembly on Wednesday, the veteran leader from the southern Punjab city of Multan rebutted a statement of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif that the demand for creation of new provinces was a ‘gimmick’ by the government to hide its alleged corruption.
“I have great respect for Shahbaz Sharif, but I do not agree with his statement in which he linked the demand for new provinces to the government’s corruption,” said Mr Hashmi, who in the past had openly criticised some policies of the party and decisions of its leadership.
Answering a question about new provinces at a gathering of supporters in London, Mr Shabaz reportedly said it was the government’s habit to come up with new gimmicks whenever it was criticised for its corruption and lack of accountability.
Mr Hashmi, who reluctantly accepted the office of senior vice-president of the PML-N last month and is also part of the 15-member special committee constituted by Nawaz Sharif to formulate suggestions on the demand for new provinces, said he wanted his party to take the lead and announce “creation of three to four new provinces” in Punjab.
Mr Hashmi, who had almost been sidelined by the leadership because of his open criticism of policies of the party, said that new provinces had become need of the hour with the increase in population.
He did not elaborate geographical locations of the new provinces, but it is believed that he was referring to the ongoing debate in media and political circles that Punjab should be divided into South Punjab, Bahawalpur, Central Punjab and Potohar provinces.
Earlier, taking part in a debate in the National Assembly on the presidential address to parliament in April, Mr Hashmi had proposed to split the four provinces into 16 for good administration.
His call for more provinces, especially in the most populous province of Punjab, is expected to cause unease in the PML-N which constituted a committee on the issue only recently because of fears of a political isolation when almost all major and small parties are openly supporting the calls for new provinces.
Mr Hashmi called for framing an easy mechanism to create new provinces and said the process should not be delayed until the next assembly “lest you find the country’s map changed”.
In an interview to the official news agency on Tuesday, Mr Hashmi said there was no harm in creating new provinces; this would help ensure better administration and improved governance.