The special committee assigned with the job of setting up a new division to remove backwardness of Thal area of Punjab has short listed two proposals in this regard, after consultative meetings with the Members of National and Provincial Assemblies of districts concerned.
The final decision will be taken by Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif in the light of these proposals.
Punjab Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan held a parley regarding the headquarters of the new division at the Committee Room of Punjab Assembly, here on Monday. Member National/Provincial Assemblies and DCOs of Sargodha, Jhang, Bhakkar, Mianwali, Muzaffargarh, Mandi Bahauddin and Layyah were also present.
After the meeting with elected representatives, it proposed that district Layyah be given the status of new divisional headquarters, and besides Bhakkar and Layyah districts, tehsil Kot Addu of district Muzaffargarh be also given the status of a district, including it in the new division. Similarly, village Rangpur Janoobi of district Muzaffargarh will also be a part of the new division.
According to the second proposal, Bhakkar city can be made the new divisional headquarter, by including Bhakkar, Layyah, Kot Addu, a part of Noorpur Thal and some area of tehsil Athara Hazari in the new division.
The elected representatives of tehsil Kot Addu opposed the proposal to give Bhakkar the status of a divisional headquarter, saying that Bhakkar was 200 kilometers away from Kot Addu. Similarly, the elected representatives of district Jhang unanimously emphasized the view that if tehsil Athara Hazari was included in the new division, the direct link of tehsil Ahmed Pur Sial will be disconnected with Jhang.
The elected representatives of district Mianwali adopted the stance that they would prefer to remain a part of Sargodha division. The meeting also considered the proposal of granting status of division to district Jhang. It also considered including district Mandi Bahauddin in Sargodha division, instead of Gujranwala division. That the elected representatives concerned could not reach a consensus, it was decided to send the proposals to the chief minister.
Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan told the meeting that Bhakkar, Layyah and other areas of Thal desert were considered backward areas of Punjab due to their location and the pace of development process. He said the chief minister wanted to facilitate the people by establishing a new division comprising the districts situated in Thal. It would help people of the area have easy access to new divisional headquarters, besides accelerating the development process of the area.
The MNAs participating in the meeting included Obaid Ullah Shadikhel, Dr Muhammad Afzal Dhandla, Najaf Abbas Siyal and Syed Saqlain Shah Bukhari. The members provincial assembly who participated in the meeting were: Malik Ahmed Yar Hanjra, Malik Ghulam Murtaza Rahim Khar, Hammad Nawaz Khan, Ch Ashfaq Ahmed, Alamdar Hussain, Khurram Siyal, Shafqat Gondal, Syed Tariq Yaqoob Shah, Malik Ghazanfar Abbas Cheena, Amir Anayat Khan Shahani, Amanat Ullah Khan Shadikhel, Mehr Ijaz Ahmed Achlana, Sh Muhammad Akram, Mohtarma Rashida Yaqoob Sheikh, Ameer Muhammad Khan, Muhammad Saqlain Bukhari, Qaiser Magsi, Mohtarma Tahia Noon and former Member Provincial Assembly Ali Noor Haider Khan Niazi. Besides, the Senior Member Board of Revenue Punjab, the Commissioner Sargodha Division, the Secretary Regulation, the Additional Secretary Local Government and DCOs of the districts concerned were also present.
