LAHORE, Nov 9: The district government system is not being wrapped up, says adviser to Punjab chief minister Sirdar Zulfikar Khosa at a press conference in which nazims and former parliamentarians from various districts announced their joining of the PML-N.

Khosa, who is also Punjab president of the party, told a questioner that the provincial government was planning to introduce checks and balances on the present local bodies system to monitor and improve their performance otherwise it had no plans to roll back the devolution plan.

To stress that the party was in favour of local bodies system, he recalled that the PML-N while in power had held local councils polls many times. Welcoming the new entrants to the party, he said their entry had been unconditional and recommended by their respective district PML-N body.

According to him, the firm stance of the party leadership since Oct 12, 1999 against military dictatorship and on the independent judiciary issue impressed the people to join the PML-N.

Answering a question about contacts with the disgruntled elements of the PML-Q and attracting them towards the PML-N, Khosa said he had no contacts with any such person and that they too could join the party after getting clearance from their relevant district body of the Nawaz League.

Not ruling out contacts of the Q-Leaguers with central leadership of the PML-N, he, however, said any major decision on the issue would be taken by the central working committee of the party.

Replying to a query about gas theft by two party leaders, MNA Malik Riaz and Javed Lateef, and torture of SNGPL officials, he assured that legal action would be taken against the accused after a thorough probe.

Those who joined the PML-N included three former provincial ministers, six MPAs, one district naib nazim, five tehsil nazims, four tehsil naib nazims and 35 union council nazims.

Prominent among them were Syed Tahir Ali Shah, Farrukh Javed Ghumman and Chaudhry Muhammad Akram, Makhdoom Ali Akbar, Ajmal Khan Joiya, Faisal Farooq Cheema, Faisal Javed Ghumman and others.

Punjab secretary-general Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, Rana Tanveer Husain and Chaudhry Jafar Iqbal were also present on the occasion. — Staff Reporter