9 April 2005	Saturday	29 Safar 1426

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, April 8: President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday agreed that efforts to find a political solution to the Balochistan issue would continue and the parliamentary committee’s recommendations would be implemented.

The two leaders met at the president’s camp office in Rawalpindi and exchanged views on the outcome of Chinese prime minister’s visit, the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service, ACD conference and the overall law and order situation.

The ongoing dialogue with Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti also came under discussion and they agreed that a political package being prepared by the parliamentary committee on Balochistan would be implemented.

Sources said both leaders were of the view that the Chinese premier’s successful visit would go a long way in strengthening economic and political relations between the two countries.

Mr Aziz briefed President Musharraf on various agreements and memorandums signed with China and termed them highly beneficial for Pakistan.

The two leaders were optimistic that more Chinese investment would come into the country with the passage of time.

The fourth ministerial meeting of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) also came under discussion and they hoped the Islamabad declaration adopted at the end of the meeting would advance the cause of cooperation among Asian countries.

The two leaders also discussed President Musharraf’s forthcoming visit to New Delhi.

They hoped that the bus service between Azad and occupied Kashmir would advance the cause of resolving the Kashmir dispute. They were of the view that those who tried to attack the bus on Thursday were misguided elements.

Prime Minister Aziz also briefed President Musharraf about the overall law and order situation in the country. The recent clash between MMA activists and police during a marathon in Gujranwala also came under discussion.

AGRICULTURE OUTPUT: President Musharraf and Prime Minister Aziz stressed the need for a focussed approach to enhance value-added production in agriculture sector to attain self-sufficiency and wider access to international markets, adds APP.

Following a presentation on development of agriculture sector, they emphasized that progress in agro-industry sector would create jobs, help reduce poverty, raise living standards in rural areas and impart diversity to the national economy.

They observed that while the government had introduced long-term measures for increasing production, the country needed to bolster the agro-based industry with a thrust on livestock and dairy products in the short and medium term.

“We must embark upon a fast-paced development that should benefit farming community, spur growth and enhance Pakistan’s exports,” the president said. He called for setting up essential facilities like canning, food storage and processing services to increase the output of value-added products.

Being a large agrarian economy and the world’s fifth largest producer of milk, he said, Pakistan needed to do a lot in the field of dairy products. Besides, livestock and fishing should be improved so that the country could make its mark in the international market.

The two leaders noted with satisfaction the five per cent growth recorded in the agriculture sector during the current financial year, which had seen the country harvest a record 1.5 million bales of cotton and a large wheat crop.

The prime minister said a strategy was being devised to improve the capacity and human resource development for better agricultural growth. He said the government was in touch with countries like Malaysia and Thailand for joint ventures in private sector for setting up agricultural industrial units.