PML-N's South Punjab defectors join PTI

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers from South Punjab, who had defected from the party, have joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The move came after PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi and PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry confirmed that the lawmakers are all set to join their party. Member Parliament Khusro Bakhtiar, who heads the group of lawmakers, held a joint press conference here along with PTI chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday.
Bakhtiar said the demand of his group - Janoobi Punjab Suba Mahaz - is creation of separate South Punjab province, adding that under the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore on April 29, Khan had promised to fulfil this demand. The PTI chairman said many political parties had promised to make South Punjab a separate province but they did not fulfil their commitments. "I believe it is very difficult to administer the big units so I support a separate province."
Some came into power thrice and still say if they get one more chance they will make a 'Naya Pakistan,' he added. The PTI chairman said a separate province is not enough, adding they will form a committee to resolve issues related to south Punjab. He said in Switzerland there are 25 cantons for a population which is less than Lahore and every canton makes its own decisions after hearing demands of the people.
The PTI chairman said the people from cities across Punjab are moving towards and doing business in Lahore because it is close to Raiwind, adding that it has created a sense of deprivation among the people of south Punjab. Khan pointed out the need for a separate province in Punjab and the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He said FATA's governance system was destroyed in war on terror and they did not want to become a part of KP earlier but now 90 percent of them are demanding the merger with KP.
Stressing the need for a local government system in FATA, he said the local government system proves fruitful to sort out problems at lower level as only a local government knows problems of the locals. Responding to a question regarding 'aliens' that Nawaz Sharif speaks of, Khan said, "Just look at the Asghar Khan case and you would find out how poor Mian Sahab received Rs 3.5 million."
The PTI chairman further said his party has no plans of joining hands with any political party in election but has an alliance with Maulana Samiul Haq in KP. Earlier, Bakhtiar said his group presented the case for a separate province on April 9 and Khan while presenting his 11-point agenda mentioned in his eighth point that south Punjab would be made a separate province.
He said the PML-N had not been listening to their demand of a separate province. "The PPP also raised the slogan for south Punjab province but failed to fulfil the promise," he added. Bakhtiar further said south Punjab has been home to his family for nearly 800 years. "We have faced a lot of injustices," he said.
The lawmakers from South Punjab parted ways with the ruling party last month and announced the launch of a mass movement 'Janoobi Punjab Suba Mahaaz' to make southern Punjab a separate province. The PTI had responded favourably to the demand. A PTI delegation led by its senior leader from the region, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, had been holding consultations with the lawmakers to devise a joint strategy for the upcoming election.
The lawmakers from South Punjab who joined PTI included: Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Tahir Bashir Cheema, Tahir Iqbal Chaudhry, Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, Makhdoomzada Basit Bokhari, Sardar Nasrullah Khan Drishak, Samiullah Chaudhry, Asghar Ali Shah, Makhdoom Syed Iftikhar Hassan Gillani, Mian Alamdar Abbas Qureshi, Muhammad Zeeshan Gurmani, Ghulam Murtaza Raheem Khar, Sardar Khan Muhammad Jatoi, Muhammad Jamil Shah, Karam Dar Wahla, Sardar Qaisar Abbas Khan Magsi, Sardar Muhammad Khan Leghari, Maqsood Ahmed Khan Leghari, Sardar Fateh M Khan Buzdar, and Chaudhry M Alam Gujjar.