ISLAMABAD - A delegation comprising of notables and Parliamentarians from Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar on Friday called on President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr and thanked him for taking extra interest in the issues facing people of South Punjab and taking measures to alleviate the grievances of the poor people.
The delegation included MNA Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din, MPAs Muhammad Tariq Amin Hotyana, Mian Muhammad Ali Laleka, Sardar Muhammad Afzal Tatlah while Ch Shaukat Mahmood Basra, Haider Zaman Qureshi, Rao Ijaz Ali Khan, Iftikhar Ali Chishti Jatla and Amjad Majeed Qureshi were also present during the meeting.
The delegation thanked the President for his interest in the issues of South Punjab and removing grievances and sense of deprivation of the people of the area.
In this connection they mentioned the reference of the President made to the Speaker of the National Assembly for constituting a Commission to look into the issue of creation of separate province for the people of South Punjab.
While talking to the members of the delegation, the President reiterated that PPP was an egalitarian party, which believed in the nation-building process and not merely in the politics of sloganeering or getting votes.
He said that PPP was sincere to the people of South Punjab and that is why it promised separate province to them keeping in view their aspirations and legitimate demands.
He said that the party will continue making all-out efforts to fulfil its promise during its current tenure.
He said that making separate province was part of PPP’s nation-building process and would further strengthen the Federation by addressing the issues of fair distribution of resources, creation of economic opportunities for the people, legislative and administrative empowerment and other issues of major concern to the people of South Punjab.
Zardari said that PPP took the first concrete step with the help of its allies, tabling and adopting a resolution in the Lower House of the Parliament.
He said that he looks forward to early constitution of the Commission that would look into the issues of the creation of separate province and to initiate the process of amendments in the Constitution.
He called upon the Parliamentarians and notables to go to the masses and put the issue of South Punjab in the correct perspective that the creation of a separate province was not aimed against anyone but a part of nation-building process of PPP. 
The participants also spoke on host of issues with special reference to the issues being faced by the people of Southern Punjab including the prevailing energy crisis. They also brought to the attention of the President various developmental issues of their areas.
The President said that the Government was making every effort to ease the situation with regards to the power shortage.
He said that with necessary financial arrangements having been made for meeting the fuel requirements and rising water level in the reservoirs, it was expected that the situation would improve soon.