President
Asif Ali Zardari has called upon the Prime Minister/ immediately start
consultative process with all the political parties with a view to make a
separate Seraiki province in South Punjab./
Unanimous
adoption of recommendations of Parliamentary Committee on National Security
first
time that foreign policy matters were being openly debated in the
Parliament/deliberations were being held in a transparent manner in accordance
with the wishes of the people of Pakistan.Zardari
(AKRAM ABID)
Multan: April 14, 2012:
President
Asif Ali Zardari has called upon the Prime Minister to immediately start
consultative process with all the political parties with a view to make a
separate Seraiki province in South Punjab.
This he
said during his meeting with the delegation of Peoples’ lawyer forum here at
Prime Minister’s House Multan today.
Spokesperson
to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar while giving details of the meetings
held today said that the President said that this was not politics but was
meant to respect and honour the aspiration of the people of South Punjab who
have been feeling deprived for the last over sixty years and were demanding
their just rights.
The
President said that the Party promised giving identity to the people of Khyber
Pakhtoonkhaw and we fulfilled our promise. Similarly we gave rights to our
Balochi brothers and the people of Gilgit Baltistan. Now, he said, we have
promised the people of this belt to cater to their aspirations and we would do
our best to honour our commitment. He said that the people of this area have
every right to demand and have their own province and Party leadership
respected their wishes and aspirations. He said that this was the right time to
give what people have been asking for so long. “If giving rights to the people
is a crime, we will continue to commit such crimes”, Senator Babar quoted the
President as saying.
The
President said that meeting the aspirations of the people of South Punjab would
further strengthen the federation and not weaken it. He vowed to give the rights to the people of
South Punjab during the tenure of the present Government.
The
President called upon the Prime Minister to consult all the political parties
in preparing a framework to make the new province a viable one. He said that this was a question of
Pakistan’s future and all efforts should be undertaken to cater to the
aspirations of the people.
The
President also said that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani was being
targeted because of his support to the Seraiki province and also for his
support to the Party’s leadership.
Earlier,
the President also had separate meetings, one with the parliamentarians
belonging to South Punjab and the other with the women office bearers of the Party belonging to Multan, Khanewal, Vehari
and Lodhran districts.
During
his meetings, the President said that he felt great pleasure to be present
among the representatives of the South Punjab and he would be regularly
visiting the belt in future also.
The
President said that Party attaches great importance to the welfare of the
people belonging to the Southern Punjab. He said that designating a separate
president of the Party for this region shows our commitment and the importance
this region holds for us.
Discussing
current situation with the Parliamentarians, the President said that the
landmark legislations, important social protection measures and other steps
taken to strengthen the democratic institutions and procedures clearly
reflected that the Party was the only force to bring about real change in the
country. Despite all the baggage of the past regime and continued efforts of
the detractors, the Party has to its credit many achievements which others can
only imagine, he said.
The
President said that with successful completion of tenure in sight, it was time
for mobilising the Party at all levels and to gear up for the elections which
will be held on time.
The
President while discussing developmental projects and welfare activities for
the people, advised the parliamentarians to reach out to their people and
undertake all efforts to address their problems and issues on priority basis.
Discussing
current situation, the President said that unanimous adoption of
recommendations of Parliamentary Committee on National Security recently for
new terms of engagement with US/NATO/ISAF was no small achievement of the Party
as it is for the first time that foreign policy matters were being openly
debated in the Parliament and the deliberations were being held in a
transparent manner in accordance with the wishes of the people of Pakistan.
He said
that the Party through ensuring independence of the Election Commission and the
selection of an impartial care taker government, was also vigorously pursuing
other necessary measures so that the future elections could be held in a most
transparent and credible manner and that no one is able to hijack the future
elections. The Election Commission in consultation with all the political
parties has undertaken the task of correcting voters’ lists. Making
computerised NIC mandatory would banish the curse of manipulated elections for
ever, he continued.
The
President said that despite rumours factories running at maximum speed and each
day being predicted as last one for the Government, but we have successfully
continued with our march towards the welfare of the people and strengthening of
democracy in the country. From the day one, we have followed policy of
reconciliation and taken all political forces on board on major decisions as it
is what we have been trained by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. Let history remember
our leadership and the Party that shunned the politics of vendetta and
victimization.
The
President called upon the parliamentarians to highlight various achievements of
the Government among the people so that the negative propaganda is
automatically countered and the voters are proud of the achievements of the
Party they had voted for.
The
President said also advised the parliamentarians not to let the impatience and
lack of tolerance of their political opponents deflect their attention from the
welfare of the people. Our large heartedness is our asset and should be used
for our political advantage, he said.
The
Parliamentarians of the Party also spoke on current issues and apprised the
President about the issues of their constituents.
Those who
were present during the meeting included MNAs, Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din, Nawab
Liaqat, Ms. Naseem Chaudhary, Mr. Abdul Qadir Gillani, Mr. Iftikhar Nazir, Ms.
Natasha Daultana, Mr. Mehmood Hayat and Mr. Asghar Jatt. MPAs present during
the meeting included Mr. Aamir Dogar, Mr. Nazim Shah, Mr. Aamir Ghani, Mr.
Ahmed Mujtaba Gillani, Mr. Jamil Shah, Mr. Akram Kanjo, Mr. Ijaz Noon Mr.
Shafique Araein, Mr. Fayyaz Waraich and Sardar Khan Khichi.
The
meeting with the Parliamentarians was followed by another meeting with the
women office bearers of the Party of Multan, Lodhran, Khanewal and Vehari
districts.
The
President advised the women office bearers also to reach out to the women voters
and to provide help in addressing their issues. He said that Party was
committed to the welfare of the vulnerable groups of the society especially the
women and has undertaken many important legislative, political and social
measures for the welfare of the women. He said that participation of the
womenfolk was imperative for socio-economic development and no headway can be
made without their visible and active picipation
He said
that Benazir Income Support Program was government’s flagship program which was
aimed at empowering the rural women economically. He said that many components
of the program such as Wascela-e-Haq, Waecla-e-Rozagar and Wasela-e-Sehat were
serving as major vehicle for socio-economic empowerment of the women especially
in the rural areas.
He also
recounted various legislative measures such as “Women Protection from
Harassment at Workplace Act 2010, Amendment in PPC 509, Acid Crime Prevention
Act 2011, the Prevention of anti-Women Practices Act 2011, Fund for Women in
Distress and Detention Act 2011 , and empowerment of National Commission on the Status of Women as
major steps that reflected government’s commitment and efforts to address
women-related issues for their greater participation in the national
mainstream.=/
detail
issued by
Spokesperson to the President
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