Karachi: The President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari has advised the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MPAs’ not to fear the negative propaganda by the media against the PPP government and rather face it boldly.
He said this while talking to PPP MPAs at the Sindh Chief Minister House on Tuesday. He directed the party legislators to remain in contact with the people, spend time in their constituencies and counter the negative propaganda against the government.
President Zardari told the MPAs that now was the time to play an active role and face the situation, adding, “How long will the media disturb the government?” He advised the MPAs to prove their existence through political activities and turn the tide.
“The victory in the bye-election in Punjab is a clear message that people have confidence in PPP and its leadership. The democratic setup will strengthen us and the party will solve the problems of the people,” he said.
Sources claimed that the president said that he wanted to discourage the culture of political backing in the administration and rather wished to establish good governance in the country and ask the legislators to check the standard of the development schemes in scientific manners.
Sources further said that the president had asked the MPAs, mostly belonging to interior Sindh, about the developments and provision of funds. However no woman MPA was allowed to talk in the meeting. One of the MPA claimed that President Zardari was in a happy mood as he presided over a meeting in Karachi to review the progress of various developmental projects in the province.
Earlier, he presided over a meeting in Karachi to review the progress of various developmental projects in the province. The meeting was attended by Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ibad, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, federal ministers including Arbab Alamgir, Syed Khursheed Shah, Syed Naveed Qamar, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Nazar Muhammad Gondal and Raja Pervez Ashraf. Provincial ministers who attended the meeting included Murad Ali Shah, Manzoor Wasan, Zulfiqar Mirza, Agha Siraj Durrani and Jameel Soomro. Qaiser Bangali, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Water Kamal Majeedullah and secretaries and high ranking officials of relevant ministries also attended the meeting.
The meeting was briefed by the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission on federally financed and co-financed projects in the province. Chairman WAPDA gave a presentation on re-utilization of RBOD water waste, lining of canals and small dams to be built in the province. The president directed that work on dams be completed in accordance with the schedule and state land in command areas be distributed free among the poor women of the area.
President Zardari also said that energy shortage had become a very critical issue that needed to be addressed on priority basis. In this context he directed that all the available sources must be utilized effectively to augment the existing capacity to generate power so that reliance on conventional sources could be reduced.
The president further said that pilot projects for solar cookers and solar water heaters may be initiated in the selected areas of the province along with a scheme for easy financing to make it affordable to people in off-grid areas. He also directed that international assistance may be sought in developing Agricultural Solar Water Pumping Program in the country to overcome the problem of energy shortage for water pumps for irrigation purposes.
Source: The News
Date:5/19/2010
