LAHORE:
The Punjab government has notified Gujrat as the 10th division of the province.
According to a notification issued on December 18, the new division will consist of four districts: Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin and Wazirabad. The notification was issued by the ranking member of the Board of Revenue (BoR) following the approval of the Punjab Governor.
The formation of the new Gujrat division was announced by former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi on August 17, 2022. He and former MNA Moonis Elahi sought to make their hometown the headquarters of the division.
Despite opposition from some politicians in Wazirabad and Hafizabad, the two districts will remain part of Gujrat division as per the new notification.
Wazirabad tehsil of Gujranwala district had been updated as a new district with Wazirabad and Ali Pur Chatha as its tehsils.
Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s government had canceled the notification to Gujrat division on February 16, 2023.
The decision had been challenged in the Lahore High Court by Noman Akbar Warraich, aide to PTI leader Moonis Elahi.
The court had restored Gujrat as a division by staying the notification issued by the interim Punjab government on February 21 last year. The new notification has cleared the uncertainty about Gujrat as the 10th administrative division of Punjab.
