SADIQABAD - National People’s Party senior vice chairman Syed Mir Fazal Elahi expressed the hope that due to the efforts of Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi, Bahawalpur province would soon be restored as the government had taken another step towards the restoration.
President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday formally requested the National Assembly to act upon the resolutions passed by the National and Punjab assemblies and set up a commission for the creation of two new provinces, Multan and Bahawalpur.
He said that the president requested the National Assembly speaker on the insistence of the Nawab, and termed it an important development. He also felicitated Nawab Salahuddin on the significant movement towards the restoration of the province.
He said that the Nawab had been making strenuous efforts and worked diligently for the purpose, by demonstrating public power through public gatherings. Thus, the rulers have to restore the province, he added.
Last Wednesday, a press release issued by the National Assembly secretariat highlighted the directives by the president in his letter to the Speaker National Assembly, which stated that in reference to the resolution passed in the NA in its 41st session on May 3,  2012, a new province ‘Janoobi Punjab’ (south Punjab), previously referred to as Multan province, be created in order to address the grievances of the people and secure the political, administrative and economic interest of the people of the area. He also mentioned a similar resolution passed by the Punjab Assembly, demanding the parliament and federal government to create a south Punjab province and also to revive Bahawalpur’s status as a province.