02 September 2004	Thursday	16 Rajab 1425

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LAHORE, Sept 1: PPP (parliamentarian) MNA Shah Mahmud Qureshi has said that most of the former federal ministers taken in the new cabinet would not help Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz solve the people's problems.

Talking to newsmen after a seminar at a hotel here on Wednesday, he said that the prime minister had a wide scope of selection from among 190 members of the National Assembly who had elected him to power. Certainly, there was no dearth of qualified members capable of becoming ministers.

He said that Pakistan was in dire need of a stable government now for its economic development and achieving eight per cent of economic growth rate intended by the prime minister.

He said that the people had been waiting for the past two years for political stability but they had been disappointed. No efforts were made to solve the problems like Balochistan and tribal areas and the result was political instability.

He said that the nationalists in Balochistan wanted the government should hold negotiations with them but it failed. Similarly military operation was started in tribal areas instead of solving the matte through political negotiations.

He said that another reason of political instability was that the government had divided the political parties. Muslim League and PPP had been divided, it was surprising that the PPP (Patriots) members of the assembly were accusing each other and levelling charges of corruption only for seeking ministerial jobs.

Replying to a question he said that PPP chairpersons would return to Pakistan at a proper time. She wanted to return but she was watching the political conditions prevailing here. " See what treatment was given to Shahbaz Sharif who had attempted to return to his homeland?" He said that both Benazir and Mian Nawaz Sharif were popular leaders and their vote bank was intact.

Mr Qureshi who is also chairman of farmers Associates, Pakistan (FAP) said that the cotton crop had been adversely affected by the leaf curl virus in many parts of the southern Punjab and the government had failed to control the situation.

He said that another reason of the cotton crisis was the water shortage. He said that IRSA had already declared that Punjab and Sindh would get much less water than their due share. If water was not available for the cotton during the current month its production would be affected.