Rana Zahid Touseef Calls for Faisalabad Division to Be Made a Province

Senior politician and former district nazim Rana Zahid Touseef has called for the creation of new provinces in the country, saying Faisalabad Division should be granted provincial status. He was speaking at a press conference at his residence alongside former legislators, local government representatives and members of the business community. He said making Faisalabad Division a province would help resolve basic public problems and would also automatically fulfil the longstanding demand for a Lahore High Court bench in Faisalabad. Rana Zahid alleged that the political parties in power at the federal and provincial levels were opposing the creation of new provinces because of their political interests. “If Faisalabad Division’s funds are spent on resolving the problems of its people, what objection can anyone have?” he asked. He said the creation of new provinces would not necessarily increase administrative expenditure and that a comprehensive plan had already been prepared in this regard. Responding to questions from journalists, he said that as district nazim he had made every possible effort for the development of Faisalabad, but the then provincial government had created hurdles and withheld funds. He argued that local government institutions alone could not resolve the city’s problems unless Faisalabad Division was made a separate province. Criticising the Metro Bus project, Rana Zahid said the funds being spent on it could instead be used to construct a ring road, underpasses and overhead bridges to make the city completely signal-free. He said Faisalabad needed parking plazas rather than a Metro Bus system to address traffic problems caused by roadside parking. He alleged that the views of citizens and their representatives had not been sought before the project was approved and that the decision had been taken by the chief minister’s office. According to him, the project had already started creating difficulties for citizens instead of providing them with relief. Rana Zahid said that if the divisional commissioner worked as the chief secretary of a province comprising Faisalabad Division, public issues could be resolved within hours rather than days, as people would no longer have to travel to Lahore to meet the chief minister. He said new provinces should be created across the country because the rapid increase in population had significantly expanded public problems and no chief minister sitting in Lahore could effectively address the issues of the entire province.