OKARA, June 23: Defence Minister Rao Sikander Iqbal has said the government is making frantic efforts for the alleviation of poverty in the country.

This he said while speaking at a ceremony of distributing cheques among the poor and widows at his residence here on Monday. In all, the minister distributed cheques of Rs420,000 among the 70 poor and widows.

He said the government had reduced its non-development expenditures in the budget so that maximum funds could be utilized for the public welfare projects.

Later, he held a meeting with the officers of SNGPL, including senior General Manager Arif Latif, Chief Najeebul Hasan and SNGPL Sahiwal zone incharge Farrukh Latif. The minister directed these officers to complete the survey of city areas where the gas facility was not available.

SAJID NAQVI: Islami Tehrik chief and MMA senior vice-president Allama Sajid Naqvi has said that the no trust move is only a rehearsal and the opposition is least interested in its outcome.