South Punjab (Saraiki, ) is a proposed new province of Pakistan, comprising the southern divisions of Punjab province (Bahawalpur, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan). The proposed province would form about 52 percent of the total area and almost 40 percent of the population of existing Punjab province, or around 40 million people as of 2017 (expected to reach 50 million in 2023).
History
In 2012, Punjab Provincial Assembly and the National Assembly passed resolutions for the creation of a new province in Punjab. These resolutions were supported by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PMLN) and were passed.
In the 2013 election, the Peoples Party tried to mobilize voters from Southern Punjab over the creation of a separate province. But they got only one National Assembly seat from the region.
In 2018 the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) promised to create a new province in South Punjab within the first 100 days of taking office, if they win. PTI won the election and won 30 out of 50 seats of the National Assembly seats in South Punjab. On 15 August 2018, PTI MPA of Punjab Assembly, Mohsin Leghari tabled a resolution for the creation of a new province in South Punjab.
On 28 January 2022 the Senate of Pakistan accepted a bill seeking the creation of South Punjab province, and was supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
Establishment of Civil Secretariat
In 2020, a separate civil secretariat was established for South Punjab. The secretariat was made up of Dera Ghazi Khan Division, Multan Division, and Bahawalpur Division. It became officially operational on 15 October 2020.
Initially, the following departments were included in the separate Administrative Secretariat of South Punjab region: Services and General Administration, Home, Health, Education, Agriculture, Planning and Development, Livestock and Dairy Development, Local Government and Community Development, Housing, Urban Development and Public Health, Engineering, Irrigation, Forest, Communication and Works, and Revenue, as well as Police.
Geography
The Saraikistan Qaumi Council demanded the creation of a province by merging 24 districts in South Punjab and 2 districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts).
The Main Political parties PTI, PPP, and PML(N) have differences in the geography of the proposed province. The PPP supports the formation of the South province by merging 14 districts of Punjab and as well as Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The PTI supports the formation of the South Punjab province by merging 11 districts of South Punjab only. The PML(N) does not much support the division of Punjab into two separate provinces.
Administration Division
The administrative divisions of the current secretariat:
Demographics
Language
The major languages spoken in Southern Punjab are Saraiki and Punjabi. Urdu is the official lingua franca.
Religion
Islam is the dominant religion in Southern Punjab, with a Sunni majority and a Shia minority.