News
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Zardari reiterates support to Kashmiri people
* President says trade across LoC a pioneering confidence building measure
* Urges federal government to complete pending projects on priority basisStaff Report
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for the restoration of their fundamental rights.
He also asked the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) workers to reach out to the people in far-flung areas and to complement the government’s efforts in addressing their problems and grievances.
President Zardari said this in a meeting with a four-member delegation led by Lord Qurban Hussain, at the Presidency. Members of the PPP Kashmir Committee, including Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin and Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob, Federal Minister Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, Raja Parvez Ashraf, Farhatullah Babar, Rukhsana Bangash and Fauzia Habib, also attended the meeting.
Matters pertaining to party organisation and developmental works in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) were discussed during the meeting.
President Zardari said that he had asked the federal government to take necessary steps on priority basis for the completion of the ongoing projects in AJK. He said that trade across the Line of Control was a pioneering confidence building measure in AJK. Lord Hussain thanked the president for the meeting and praised him for taking courageous and bold decisions like the 18th and 19th Amendments, the operation against terrorists in Swat, renaming of NWFP to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package. He said that these decisions had been necessary. Hussain also lauded the efforts of the government for handling the challenges facing the country despite the devastation caused by last year’s floods and the war against terror which, he said, could only be possible under the able leadership of the PPP co-chairman.
The members of the delegation also gave suggestions related to progress on various development projects with particular emphasis on issues relating to the Mangla Dam raising project and reconstruction programme in AJK.
The delegation thanked President Zardari for his keen interest in the development projects and uplifting the morale of the people of AJK. They also appreciated the role of the federal government for political stability in the area.
Separately, Zardari said that philanthropists and community-based organisations have an important role to play in national development, hence the government is introducing policies, which would support their activities. He said this in a meeting with a delegation of the World Memon Organisation (WMO) led by WMO President Abdul Sattar Dada.
Talking to the members of the delegation, the president said that the efforts of the WMO to alleviate the sufferings of the indigent and under-privileged members of the Memon community were commendable. He expressed the hope that they will extend their activities to other parts of the country as well.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk