05 February 2005	Saturday	25 Zilhaj 1425

KARACHI, Feb 4: Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Raheem on Friday said that District Coordination Officers will soon replace district nazims as administrators in the province before local bodies' election this year.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of membership campaign of Pakistan Muslim League, Dr Arbab Raheem, who is also provincial president of the ruling party, claimed that the PML would be poised for landmark victory in coming local bodies' polls in the province.

"Muslim League will remain in power after polls this year. I anticipate that votes of religious people will also be cast to the PML as the party is above all sectarianism," he said.

He termed upcoming local government elections the "first test for PML workers" and called workers for full participation in the event claiming that the party has already proved in the previous local government polls that it has competitive vote-bank in Sindh and Naimatullah Khan could never be the Karachi's City Nazim if PML would not have supported him.

About party's membership in Sindh, the chief minister expressed hope that it would cross the target of 1.5 million members in the province. He said that as, he told, Bostan Ali Hoti had assured him that about one million members would be made only from Karachi and if achieved that figure, he (Arbab Raheem) would get the target of another million in rest of the province.

"We have completed party's reorganization in eight districts with major emphasis in lower Sindh including Badin, Thatta, Mirpurkhas and Tharparkar," he said. Referring to his PML membership, the form of which he had filled earlier, he said that it was his first ever form of any political party which he filled and vowed to continue struggling on PML platform. "If life allows me to do politics I would do with Muslim League," he added.

Sindh PML Secretary General Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh said that the party's membership drive would be concluded on March 31. He said that a meeting of various wings of PML would be conducted soon and called desperate workers for coming forward and starting their activities for the party's cause.

"We would strive for provision of jobs to unemployed workers and restoration of workers' respect," he added. Dr Saeeda Malik, Raheela Tiwana, Usman Malkani, Altaf Unnar and others were present on the occasion. -PPI