News
Monday, October 25, 2010
Rehabilitation work must complete before winter: Taseer* Governor says all political parties, masses, govt serving the cause of flood victims
* No terrorist training camps in Punjab
Staff Report
LAHORE: Rehabilitation of the flood-affected people must complete before the winter sets in, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer said on Sunday, adding that the government would utilise all possible resource to meet this tough challenge.
During a meeting with British home secretary and Women and Equality Minister Theresa May at the Governor’s House, Taseer said Pakistanis, with international support, would surmount this challenge as they had in the war against terrorism.
Terming media reports of corruption in the utilisation of relief funds propaganda, the governor said that all political parties, masses and the government were serving the cause of the flood-affected people.
He said the government had launched the Watan Card Scheme and the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) for financial assistance of the flood-hit people in a transparent way.
He said that the coalition governments were working for the cause of the people in need and the flood-hit areas would be developed at par with the prosperous urban centres of Punjab. He also paid tributes to the sacrifices rendered by the armed forces in the war against terrorism.
Taseer said that the Pakistan People’s Party was the largest party in the country and had always taken decisions in the interest of the general public, adding that it increased the salaries of government employees by 50 percent and launched a poverty alleviation programme.
He said Pakistan is a country of peace-loving people and they hate terrorists. The people of Pakistan had shown this by facing boldly the devastation from floods and war on terrorism at the same time. “We are determined to facing every rough and tough time,” Taseer added.
Camps: He said no terrorist training camp existed in Punjab, adding that thousands of army officials had been killed during the war on terrorism and the Pakistan Army and the government would abolish this cancer from the country soon.
The governor said the PPP had even launched certain programmes under which different skills and job opportunities would be available to the poor people along with financial assistance. The best democratic set-up was working in Pakistan and “we will lead democracy in a long run”.
He lauded the British government’s support for Pakistan in every hour of need.
Speaking on the occasion, the British diplomat, Theresa May, said that the British government wanted to see Pakistan peaceful and prosperous, adding that it was providing every possible assistance for the flood victims.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk