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December 30, 2018

Consensus decision to be taken on South Punjab: Buzdar

BAHAWALPUR/LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said no unilateral but unanimous decision will be taken on the South Punjab province.

Talking to reporters after the meeting of the Punjab cabinet in Bahawalpur on Saturday, Usman Buzdar said, "We have come here to solve problems of the people of Bahawalpur. We will solve the problems of Bahawalpur here so that the people do not travel to Lahore for the purpose. He said the government wanted to solve the problems of all cities.

The CM said Cholistan University would be set up and the decision of the appointment of the vice-chancellor would be taken by a search committee. He said the South Punjab Secretariat would be functional from the next financial year. South Punjab will be given mega projects. The work on the burn unit will also start. The committees on the 100-day plan are still active and the targets will be achieved, the CM said.

He said he had gone straight to Model Bazaar from the Bahawalpur Airport and talked to the victims. "We have resolved to compensate their losses," he added. He said he visited the Bahawalpur Victoria Hospital and reviewed medical arrangements at its emergency. The matter of the Bahawalpur Cricket Stadium would also be reviewed. He said action was being taken against influential mafias during the anti-encroachment and no permission had been given to take action against the poor. Action will be taken against the assistant commissioner concerned on the violation of this policy.

Usman Buzdar said the the less-developed areas would be brought on a par with the developed areas. The cabinet meetings will be held in other divisions as well, he added.

The ministers, especially from South Punjab, thanked the chief minister for holding the meeting of the cabinet in Bahawalpur. They called it a praise-worthy decision.

Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan has said that putting names of 172 people on Exit Control List (ECL) is the real portrayal of the character of "40 thieves", and the PTI government is acting as "Ali Baba" who would bring Zardari and Sharif families to justice.

According to a handout, he said this while addressing a press conference at Islamia University Bahawalpur (IUB) after a provincial cabinet meeting in Bahawalpur. He said while Nawaz Sharif would take music class in jail and Zardari would teach dance.

Chohan said that in the PML-N government, Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari were fighting like quails to fool the masses, but in reality they were acting in harmony.

He said now in Ali Baba's tenure, the corrupt and thieves would not be spared and they would not be offered any deal. He said the thieves have lost their senses. Giving details about the agenda of the cabinet meeting in Bahawalpur, the minister said that it had been decided in the meeting that salary of doctors posted in the remote areas would be increased. It has been decided to provide 279 ventilators and beds for ICUs in the hospitals across the province. He said the meeting also approved that ad hoc assistant professors of the medical colleges of DG Khan and Sialkot would be made permanent. Final approval has been given to set up Punjab Water Council which would be headed by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and a water policy has also been approved to ensure right use of water reservoirs, building new reservoirs, dams and management of water distribution, said the minister.

He said the meeting had approved appointment of the vice-chancellor of the Cholistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Bahawalpur. The recruitment policy for seven different Social Welfare Department projects has been reviewed and fresh recruitments to be made for the projects. A three percent quota for special persons would be ensured, he added. He said the ban on recruitment policy had been relaxed for these projects. He said the Punjab Uniform Transport Policy had been approved, allowing the government officers and ministers to use official vehicles according to their post and privilege to ensure rightful distribution of resources.

The provincial minister said that key matters under Punjab Power Development Board Act 2011 had been approved. He said that a policy to employ local labour in CPEC projects had been approved and foreign investment companies would be bound to employ 100pc local skilled labour in phases.

He said that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar gave equal importance to all cities and the purpose of holding cabinet meeting in Bahawalpur was to give importance to south Punjab, especially Bahawalpur. He said that no government in the past took action against mafias. He said the chief minister had tightened noose around “Sicilian”, land and underworld mafias. The day is not far when the rule of law would prevail and everyone would have equal opportunities to prosper, the minister concluded.

Amin Abbasi adds: The first time in the history of Pakistan, a chief minster of Punjab, Sardar Usman Buzdar, presided over a meeting of the provincial cabinet at the Bahawalpur Divisional Headquarters.

A 22-point agenda was discussed in the three-hour meeting. The provincial cabinet approved the annual report for 2017 of the Punjab Power Development Board. After approval by the cabinet, the report will be presented in the provincial assembly. The proposal for construction of the Dadhocha Dam under the private-public partnership was also approved. The agenda of the control of the lower portion of the Chashma Right Bank Canal and the provision of the complete share of water to Punjab from the canal was also approved. The report of the Auditor General of Pakistan on the Punjab Disaster Management Organisation’s accounts for the year 2017-18 was also approved. The audit report of the Auditor General Pakistan for district health and education authorities of Punjab for the year 2017-2018 was approved. Formulation of the Labour Policy of Punjab was also approved. The final recommendations regarding the South Punjab Forest Company would be drafted by the advisory council, which will present its report to the chief minister. Implementation of the decision on the equal fee for tests in the hospitals was also okayed.

The lapsed fund of the 2017-18 financial year of the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company was also approved. Provision of funds for the current financial year 2018-19 for the Balochistan Education Programme was approved. The meeting approved the subsidy for the export of sugar. The amendment to the Punjab Rules of Business 2011 was approved to give the control of the Punjab Tianjin Engineering University to the Health Department. Measures for the establishment of the Chakar Khan Rind University, Dera Ghazi Khan, were approved.

The cabinet meeting also offered Fateha for the mothers of provincial ministers Ajman Cheema and Jehanzeb Khan, and MPA Dr Afzal.

Provincial ministers, advisers, special assistants, chief secretary, secretaries of the departments concerned and senior officials were also present on the occasion.

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