PPP Senator demands division of Punjab into smaller provinces

ISLAMABAD: A treasury lawmaker in the Upper House of the Parliament has demanded the division of Punjab into smaller provinces—demanding the creation of Seraikistan province, free from the administrative control of Punjab. “We don’t want to live with takht-e-Lahore (throne of Lahore)—we want our Seraikistan province, ” said Rana Mahmood Ul Hassan from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the Senate budget session on Wednesday. “Why is our Seraikistan province not being created? ” he questioned. “Multan used to be our capital in the past, ” the senator referred to the pre-partition era. “The people of Bahawalpur supported the creation of Pakistan. They openly sided with Pakistan, ” he said. Demanding the division of Punjab into smaller provinces, the lawmaker said, “When a province becomes too big, its bifurcation becomes inevitable—we want to be separated from Punjab. ” The senator said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also supports the creation of Seraikistan province. Bilawal has told us ‘you people should continue fighting for the creation of your province, ’ Hassan said. He demanded the establishment of a high court, an industrial zone, and information technology and agriculture universities in south Punjab. Senator Hassan also demanded that south Punjab be given a share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. Danesh Kumar from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) objected to certain remarks apparently made by PPP’s Member National Assembly (MNA) Abdul Qadir Patel in the NA budget session earlier on Tuesday, which, Kumar said, were “highly insulting” for the senators. Law Minister Azam Tarar responded that the comments of the said MNA represented the “personal opinion of the said lawmaker, and did not reflect the collective view of the Parliament. ” Tarar said that he was present in the NA session when the remarks were made and had “immediately responded to them. ” He stressed on the importance of “maintaining mutual respect between both Houses of Parliament and preserving the dignity of democratic institutions. ” “Both Houses of Parliament play a vital role in the democratic system—their prestige and constitutional standing must be safeguarded at all times, ” Tarar said. The law minister said Pakistan having facilitated the peace deal between Iran and the United States is a “great diplomatic success, ” which, he said, earned Pakistan global appreciation. Senators from different political parties including Azam Swati, Poonjo Bheel, Hamid Khan, Saifullah Abro, Abdul Wasay, Shahzaib Durrani, Dost Ali Jeesar, Kamil Ali Agha, Fawzia Arshad, Abdul Qadir and Abid Sher Ali shared their views on the federal budget. The Senate was adjourned till Thursday. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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