ISLSMABAD, March 10: Residents of Gujar Khan will benefit from a gas supply project under a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government, but eyebrows will be raised about the manner the project, according to a PPP press release, was sanctioned by the party’s co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, even before the formation of a government.

“On the recommendations of Raja Pervez Ashraf, MNA-elect, the co-chairman (Asif Zardari) approved the project of providing gas to the local population within a radius of five kilometres from gas fields in Gujar Khan district. He also announced setting up of a dry port in Sargodha and taking up on priority basis the setting up of an industrial estate in Gujar Khan,” says a handout issued by the PPP Media Office here on Monday.

There is no mention in the handout as to how a co-chairman of a party can give ‘approval’ to a project when even the newly- elected MNAs have not taken oath, what to talk about formation of a government.

The handout was issued after a meeting of the PPP members- elect of National Assembly from three Punjab divisions of Rawalpindi, Sargodha and Faisalabad with Mr Zardari on Monday.

It says the MNAs-elect held a general discussion on the party’s nomination of prime ministerial candidate, the current political situation and the high priority development projects in their respective constituencies that needed to be taken up urgently.

The participants attending the meeting expressed complete confidence in the leadership of Mr Zardari and nominating the party’s candidate for the office of prime minister. It was perhaps after this expression of confidence by the members, Mr Zardari started behaving like a prime minister giving approvals to various projects.

Addressing the participants, according to the handout, Mr Zardari said clean and transparent governance must be the aim of the party. He announced setting up of a permanent ‘Ethics Committee’ of the party to keep a watch, investigate complaints and recommend action against holders of public office belonging to the PPP.

On a suggestion from a party member, Farzana Raja, Mr Zardari directed preparation of a compendium of party workers who laid down their lives or suffered in other ways during the period 1996 to 2008.

The compendium will document a brief resume of the worker, family background and the sacrifices rendered for democracy and the cause. A mechanism was being devised to allow the workers easy access to the party’s ministers and public office holders for bringing to their attention the problems of their areas, he said.