BAHAWALPUR: The present Government would under no circumstances concede the demand for the creation of a new Bahawalpur or a Karachi Province, as emergence of new provinces militated against national integrity. ... A categorical declaration in this behalf was made by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto while addressing a ... public meeting ... here this afternoon [Nov 8]. The [PM] also declared: `No adjustments to the existing boundaries of the provinces would be made, because these are the Provinces which have a history behind them`. ... He said the demand for a Bahawalpur Province ... could never be accepted as long as he was in power. ... He said the Constitution ... had given the Provinces their ultimate shape and determined their complexion. Any change in the complexion of provinces would be disastrous for the country. ...

Thumping the rostrum ... and raising his voice, the [PM] ... said: `Let everybody be clear ... that the Bahawalpur Province would Inshallah never come into being, nor will there be a Karachi Province as I consider them to be against the national interest`. ... The [PM] reminded the people that Pakistan had been achieved for Muslims and not for having Provinces here and there. News agencies