December 31, 2006	Sunday	Zilhaj 09, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said the PML and its allies will contest the next general elections jointly and in an organised manner.

He also expressed the hope that his party and its allies would win the polls. The premier said this while talking to a group of MNAs belonging to Faisalabad division, led by Minister of State for Minorities Prof Mushtaq Victor who called on him at the PM House here on Saturday.

The prime minister said the government had brought about political and economic stability in the country as a result of reforms introduced during the last seven years. He said that on the historic day of Dec 30, on which Muslim League came into being 100 years ago, every member of the party should make a commitment to play a role in making Pakistan a strong and progressive country.

The prime minister said that it was important that this reform agenda was carried forward for which consistency and continuity of policies was required, and the PML and its allies were committed to improving the standard of living of the people.

The prime minister said that the PML government and its allies had introduced a number of legal reforms to safeguard the rights and interests of women, adding that his party would continue to take all necessary measures to empower women to bring them in the mainstream of national life.

He reiterated government's commitment to restore the rightful place to women as enjoined by tenets of Islam.

He said the enrolment drive launched by the PML needed to be carried out in a systematic and institutionalised manner. It should especially focus on the enrolment of women who constituted half of the country's population, he said.

The prime minister also said that the government was paying special attention to the agriculture sector because more than 60 per cent of Pakistan's population was directly linked to this sector.

He said the government was giving top priority to farm business and agricultural marketing so that the farmers could get better returns for their crop.

The parliamentarians said that the farming community had welcomed the timely decision taken by the PML government to significantly reduce the price of fertilizers, and said that this would have a positive impact on the agricultural production.

The lawmakers congratulated the prime minister for announcing the Eid package to keep prices of essential commodities within the reach of the common man on this important occasion.

The Minister of State for Minorities, Prof Mushtaq Victor, briefed the prime minister on various initiatives taken by the Minorities Division to further improve the environment for inter-faith harmony.

He said the entire Christian community in the country was grateful to Mr Aziz for celebrating Christmas with them and visiting a church on the Christmas day.