July 03, 2007	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 17, 1428

QUETTA, July 2: PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said the party and the Punjab government would send relief goods on daily basis to the flood affected people of Balochistan and 1000 ton of eatables were dispatched from Quetta to Nushki, Khuzdar and Kharan areas on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference at the chief minister’s secretariat here after arrival from Islamabad, the ruling party leader said the general election would be held in the beginning of 2008 and cautioned that if opposition parties adopted negative attitude than the government would also use its cards as per situation demands.

The PML delegation would visit some of the affected areas of the province. Mr Shujaat said that the federal government and provincial governments of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan have been asked to contribute in supporting the flood affected people and added that it is our responsibility to assist them in the need of the hour.

He did not agree with a questioner for delay in the relief work or dispatching goods to flood affected areas and maintained that damages to bridges on national highways were main hurdle to provide relief.

The PML leader asserted that the spirit of people in Punjab and other provinces on the destruction caused by rains and storm in Balochistan was as like as manifested during the October 8 earthquake, saying the people of other provinces would not let alone the affected people in this critical juncture.

Answering a question that if Israel or India offer aid for affected people that would be acceptable to Pakistan, Mr Shujaat said Pakistan has enough resources to handle the situation however; aid on humanitarian grounds to help the people would not be rejected.

He said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on the floor of the National Assembly invited opposition parties to discuss matters pertaining to the general election but the opposition parties did not reciprocate positively.

He said the elections would be held according to schedule in 2008. To a question regarding re-election of the president by existing assemblies or through the newly-elected parliament, Mr Shujaat said the presidential election would be in accordance with the constitutional requirement.

He said besides the MMA leadership, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman, were signatories of the 17th amendment which allows the president in uniform to contest the presidential election.