20 November 2004	Saturday	07 Shawwal 1425

LAHORE, Nov 19: President Pervez Musharraf will perform the ground-breaking ceremony of the Rs18 billion Lahore Ring Road on Monday, a project which promises to change the outlook of the city of some seven million people where traffic jams are a common phenomenon.

The ruling PML held a meeting at the Muslim League House on Friday to finalize arrangements for the ceremony. Provincial secretary-general Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, who is also minister for works, presided.

Additional secretary-general and information secretary Senator Kamil Ali Agha, party's Lahore president Mian Munir, who has just been appointed adviser to the chief minister, provincial president of the women wing Ms Shahana Farooqi, Senator Nighat Agha, MNAs Mehnaz Rafi and Kashmala Tariq, Khwaja Tahir Zia, Qaiser Amin Butt, Mian Abdus Sattar and Khwaja Riaz Mehmood were prominent among participants.

Party leaders and workers will also be present in large numbers at the Monday ceremony. Chaudhry Zaheeruddin directed them to show discipline and dignity at the ceremony. They should also pledge, Zaheer said, that they would not let the hard work of Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi go waste.

It is said that of the total allocation for the Ring Road, a sum of Rs4 billion will be utilized to compensate the affectees of the project. Invitation cards for the ceremony are being issued on the recommendations of the PML leaders.

CM: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi said on Friday that the government was strengthening the legal sector and the justice providing institutions on a priority basis to mitigate the problems of people.

He was talking to a delegation of PML Lawyers Wing which called on him under the leadership of Aslam Zar and Alamgir Khan. National Assembly Speaker Amir Husain was also present on the occasion.

The chief minister said lawyers had always played a historic role in the establishment of the rule of law and promotion of democratic norms. Their cooperation held a central position with regard to implementation of the social or economic reforms, legislation and an effective role of the assemblies.

He said the proposals by lawyers were being given due importance at every step of legislation. People were facing acute problems due to the complicated legal system, and it was the duty of the lawyers to play their role in the provision of justice to the neglected segments of society, he said.

He said the government was adopting an effective strategy for providing low-cost and speedy justice to the people. Pervaiz Elahi said the government had taken steps to build residential colonies for the lawyers irrespective of their political affiliations. Huge funds had also been provided to all tehsil and district bar associations for the construction of their buildings, libraries and other facilities, he said.