From Abid Usman
LAHORE: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi called on Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office on Monday and discussed with him south Punjab and various other issues.
The chief minister (CM) shared with the foreign minister the south Punjab secretariat matters and steps taken in that regard. He said that south Punjab would witness record development during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. He said that the share of south Punjab in schools’ up-gradation would be 38 per cent.
The CM said people gave a thumping majority to the PTI in south Punjab and the defeated elements were spreading propaganda against the government like scrapping of the south Punjab secretariat plans by the government. Usman Buzdar promised that the PTI government would remove deprivations of all backward areas including the south Punjab, and it was only the PTI government which would create the south Punjab province.
Similarly, added the chief minister, the south Punjab secretaries were being empowered so that people might not have to travel to Lahore. He CM announced that he would visit Multan every month to review progress on the development works and to deal with other issues firsthand. The cabinet meeting would also be held in Multan and provincial ministers would also remain available in south Punjab for two days, he added. The government was committed to ending the deprivations of south Punjab and legislation was also being done to reserve employment quota for the youth of south Punjab, he added.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that an immediate action by the chief minister over the issue of south Punjab secretariat was commendable, as that eliminated propaganda and rumours. The era of ameliorating a lot of the common man in Multan and other south Punjab areas has started and no one would be allowed to spread rumours about south Punjab, he said. MNA Zain Qureshi and Provincial Minister Dr Akhtar Malik, also present on the occasion, thanked the CM for making efforts for development of south Punjab, especially Multan.
