The Pakistan government is going ahead with its plan to create the new South Punjab province by bifurcating Punjab and would move a Bill in the National Assembly, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced on Wednesday. 

The Punjab Assembly seats will be reduced to 251 from the current 371 while 120 seats have been proposed for the South Punjab Assembly in the Bill.Qureshi said that certain constitutional amendments have to be passed for the formation of the new South Punjab province.

The region will turn into a province when amendments to Articles 59, 51, 1, 106, 158 and 218 of the Constitution are passed.“The province will come into being through Article 51, it calls for the separate formation of the assembly. South Punjab will also get representation in the Senate,” he said.

The planned South Punjab province will be the sixth province of Pakistan after Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Gilgit Baltistan.Qureshi, a senior leader of the ruling PTI, said that the National Assembly Speaker will formulate a special committee for consent on the Bill.“We require co-operation of different parties for a two-thirds majority, said Qureshi.

Qureshi said that he had held a meeting with Pakistan Peoples Party’s leadership. “I request them to support us as it is in our joint interest and also a part of the PTI manifesto.”   

“We believe it strengthens a federation, and have decided to hold political dialogue with like-minded political parties,” he said.“I am hopeful they will review their attitude over it,” he said.The National Assembly, Pakistan’s lower house, has a total 342 seats, which means the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf needs 228 votes to get its way.

The PTI has 157 lawmakers. The Pakistan Muslim League-N has 84 members and the Pakistan Peoples Party has 54 lawmakers in Parliament. There are four independents.