MULTAN - PML-N Deputy Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal has said that Punjab is being subjected to political target killing on the issue of new provinces, asking the government to abolish controversial parliamentary commission on new provinces.
Addressing the participants of a public meeting and a news conference here the other day, he added that if the new provinces were not made with national consensus, it would leave adverse impacts on national security and solidarity. "It will be tantamount to unscrewing the bolts of federation," he warned. He said that the rulers used the slogan of new provinces as a political stunt and to conceal their massive corruption.
He said that the party would chalk out a unanimous line of action on new provinces in upcoming party meeting to be held in Islamabad. He claimed that the government was not serious in making new provinces. "Had they been serious on the issue, they would not have opposed new provinces in 18th Amendment," he maintained. He pointed out that neither the government allocated any budget for the new provinces in budget, nor evolved a formula for distribution of resources in NFC award or distribution of water among the provinces.
He declared that his party supported creation of new provinces in the country and therefore it tabled a resolution in the national assembly for setting up a national commission for making South Punjab, Pothohar, Hazara and FATA provinces. He warned that some elements, who were also part of government, exploited the issue of new provinces to achieve their vested interests. "They'll demand division of Sindh and it will spark horrible events and even a separation movement might take place in Sindh," he added. He said that Mian Nawaz Sharif had clearly said that if a province was made on lingual basis today, we'll have to make provinces on the basis of race and sects tomorrow.    He declared that the PML-N would issue a detailed white paper on the corruption of government in coming elections. To a query, he said that no one needed to issue white paper on PTI as Imran Khan himself issued white papers against his own party in terms of Shah Mahmood, Sheikh Rasheed and Aleem Chaudhry.  Responding to a question, he said that the federal ministry of information kept Rs. 9 billion out of its Rs. 11.5 billion total budget as secret fund.  This money was used to bribe media as the government wanted to bring all media persons on their pay roll.