BAHAWALPUR: Federal Minister for Housing and Works Tariq Cheema has alleged that during the previous Shahbaz government, injustice was done with the deserving people in respect of the allotment of government land to genuine Cholistani people.

Addressing a gathering at Tailwala near Yazman, 40 kilometres from here, Mr Cheema said that for this very basic reason, he had opposed the allotment of the Cholistan land in the previous years.

Welcoming the recent decision of the Punjab cabinet for the fresh scrutiny of the applicants for the allotment of land in Cholistan, Mr Cheema declared that the genuine residents and landless people of Cholistan had a right over the land.

He said outsiders would never be allowed to get the desert land thus ensuring genuine right to the native people of the desert. He said in pursuance of the cabinet’s decision, all applications would be scrutinized. During scrutiny, he maintained, every applicant’s file would be thoroughly checked. He assured that none of the real Cholistani would face any injustice in the allotment of land.

The federal minister claimed that former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif’s family had a deal with former president Asif Zardari’s family but the people were now politically conscious and they knew the reality of both families.

He reminded that before the July 2018 election, both the PML-N and the PPP exposed each others’ corruption but now they have joined hands only against Prime Minister Imran Khan to secure NROs for their political existence.

Mr Cheema said the prime minister would not grant NRO to any corrupt leader. He said that due to Imran Khan’s policy of not allowing anyone to interfere in state’s institutions, the country’s economy was being planned on sound footing and hence the scope of tax net was being expanded.

HOSPITAL: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has ordered the upgrade of the Uch Sharif Rural Health Centre to a 40-bed hospital.

According to a source in the health department, the chief minister issued directives on the recommendation of MPA Makhdum Iftikhar Gilani.

Dawn learnt that a team of health officials along with the officials of the buildings department recently visited Uch Sharif for a survey of the hospital.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2019