JHANG, June 29: The Makhdoom group will field its candidates on all 129 seats of union council nazims in the district for the upcoming local body elections. This was stated by Federal Kashmir Affairs Minister Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat while talking to Dawn during his short visit to his native Shah Jewna village. The federal minister said that his group would contest elections for the district nazim as well as four slots of tehsil nazims.

For this purpose, he said that he was in constant touch with coalition partners at the federal and provincial level and all major groups in the district would extend support to candidates of his group.

Even the local leadership of PPP (Parliamentarians), who became MPAs with his support, had assured their support to his group for the district nazim slot.

Mr Hayat reminded that during the last district government elections in 2001, his group had comfortably won the elections.

His younger brother, Makhdoomzada Asad Hayat, had been elected district naib nazim and till his resignation to contest the general elections, the Jhang district underwent unprecedented development.

One of his major contributions to development in the district was the supply of natural gas to Sadar and city areas of Jhang.

The Gojra Road underpass was also sectioned owing to the efforts of Syed Asad Hayat, which had been completed after his resignation.

He said that Jhang and Chiniot bypasses and a bridge over river Chenab near Chund Bharwana had also been on his agenda before his resignation. Many other mega projects, he said, would be started in the district by his group after coming into power.

Mr Hayat said that he and his group believed in relentless services to the people and we would continue to follow this policy.

Replying to a question, the federal minister said that there was no chance of postponement of the local government election as was being speculated by some politicians.

The election schedule would soon be announced by the chief election commissioner, he added.