The Secretariat for the South Punjab province is going to be functional from mid-2019, several media reports have claimed.
According to the reports, the secretariat will start working from 1st July this year.
The reports suggest that there will be an additional chief secretary for the office of South Punjab Secretariat who will head as many as 38 provincial departments.
The Secretariat office is likely to be established in Multan with a small office to be set up at GOR-1 in Lahore as well.
While some reports suggest that the disqualified PTI politician and a close friend of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Jahangir Tareen, wants the Secretariat office in Lodhran, others pointed out that the PMLQ leader Tahir Bashir Cheema – who happens to be the chairman of the Executive Council on the Creation of the South Punjab province – is lobbying for the secretariat to be established in his hometown Bahawalpur.
However, the secretariat, aiming to resolve the issues of the people far-flung and remote areas of Punjab, is best suited to be built in Multan.
Luckily, both the ruling party and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif is favoring Multan for the secretariat – but the final decision lies with the PM Imran Khan.
Reports state that Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar will be presented with the paperwork in May, following which the construction will formally start.
Earlier in December 2018, PM Khan had ordered to set up a South Punjab secretariat and make it functional by mid-2019.
Via: Pakistan Today
