17 November 2004	Wednesday	04 Shawwal 1425

QUETTA, Nov 16: The Pakthunkhwa Milli Awami Party held protest meetings in different parts of the province on Tuesday against non-provision of funds to the people hit by drought.

Speaking at the meetings, representatives of the party alleged that the government was taking no steps to lessen sufferings of those people whose orchards, fertile lands and livestock had been destroyed by famine.

MPA Naseem Turyalai, Nazim of Zarghoon Town Qahar Wadan, District Naib Nazim Haji Azam Kakar, Anjuman-i-Tajran Vice-President Ishaq Achakzai and Nasrullah Zeray spoke in Qila Abdullah whereas Abdur Rauf and Usman Kakar addressed a gathering in Qila Saifullah respectively on Tuesday.

The PMAP leaders said that thousands of people of Loralai, Zhob, Ziarat, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Qila Saifullah, Musakhel and Harnai badly hit by drought, had migrated to other districts because of the seven-year-long drought. They stated the party had decided to mobilize the people in the first phase by holding protest meetings and demonstrations to force the government to pay attention to problems of the affected farmers.

They said that hundreds of tubewells had become dried because of low water level but the government seemed to be taking no steps to come to the rescue of the people.

UPLIFT plans: Provincial senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League, Mir Ghulam Nabi Baloch, has demanded that the government should hand over the areas where mega-projects are being undertaken to the Army to save the natives from those who were attempting to sabotage the uplift programme.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, thePML leader asserted that the people of Makran were fully backing the development programme in the coastal belt.

Mir Ghulam Nabi Baloch condemned the opposition for what he said their 'anti-progress stance' and reminded them that the people in Gwadar and in rest of the coastal areas had warmly accepted the launching of the uplift programme and the establishment of cantonments in the province.

He said that the representatives of political parties from the southern and western areas of Balochistan had no right to demand the suspension of work at Gwadar seaport.

The PML leader claimed that those political elements who were opposing development did not enjoy the support of the natives.

He asked the opponents to the uplift programme not to place obstacles in the path of development especially when the people of Gwadar were happy over the progress being made.