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NWFP-like situation feared in S Punjab LAHORE PML-F parliamentary leader Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood has warned of an NWFP-like insurgency in the Southern Punjab if reasons behind demand for Saraekistan are not thrashed out. In his 25-minute-long speech during the post budget session of the Punjab Assembly on Friday amid pin drop silence in the House, the PML-F leader demanded an allocation of at least Rs 50 billion for the highly populated Southern Punjab and warned a ëfight between the haves and have-notsí could be really detrimental for the province. Besides, he also called for the need to open debate on the issue of Saraeki province to diminish the chances of any insurgency in the future. He said the country was passing through very critical phase of its history as the elected representatives in most parts of the NWFP and other troubled areas could not even visit their constituencies. Similarly, he said situation was not that good in Punjab and asserted the ëcountry could slip from our hands if ëserious and honest effortsí were not made. Makhdoom Ahmed said it was really unfortunate that for a district like Rahimyar Khan which comprises of a population of 3.6 million, only a few colleges were functioning which were established by his father in the past. On the other hand, he said, Gujranwala district had 37 degree colleges. It showed the disparity between the two parts of Punjab, he added. He said in the Southern Punjab, several industries were established but it must be known to all that majority of people working there did not belong to the area. He said majority of the worker either hails from upper Punjab or Sindh. Coming hard on the bureaucracy sitting in the provincial capital Lahore for ignoring Rahimyar Khan and other districts of the highly populated Southern Punjab, Ahmed Mehmood said it had become really hard for an ordinary citizen to meet a bureaucrat for the solution of his problems. He added even the office of an emperor was not that established and decorated as that of the WAPDA chairman. Criticising the undue protocol for VIps, he said huge cavalcade of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister comprising dozens of cars was another example of the ëglory and splendorí. We must put an end to it and pay attention to issues of the people, he said. He said the authoritative politics must come to an end now, otherwise, the voices heard in Balochistan and NWFP could be heard in Punjab as well. He even went on to say that this ëcould be the last batch of parliamentariansí if proper steps were not taken by the authorities. Terming the demand of a province of Southern Punjab a mild anti biotic, he said the governance could improve if a province was made but added the need of the hour was to open a debate over the issue. He said insurgency could not be ruled out if the issue was not addressed. The country is in a very critical condition and we have to take the bull by the horns now,í said Makhdoom. Earlier, during his speech in the post budget session, the Opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly, Chaudhry Zaheer ud Din Khan, lambasted the government for its bad governance and failure to address public grievances. He said the budget for year 2009-10 was not very different that of the last year and carried nothing for the poor. He said the difference between speech and action was the hallmark of the Punjab government and it could not make any
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