LAHORE, Dec 8: Federal minister and PML women’s wing president Nilofer Bakhtiar says prices of tomatoes and onions should not be taken as a yardstick for price hike, nor the high prices of these perishable items should mean the common man cannot buy them.

At a news conference at the Muslim League House here on Friday, she said even sweepers and drivers were carrying mobile phones these days, and those who could afford to pay their bills were certainly not starving.

The minister said the critics should not forget that the fruits of government’s policies had started yielding results, and it was because of these policies that the sale of automobiles had gone up and more and more job opportunities were available.

She said the government was doing its best to solve the common man’s problems.

She said the party’s women organisations for the NWFP and Balochistan would be in place in a few days. In Punjab and Sindh, the exercise has already been completed.

Defending the women’s rights law, Ms Bakhtiar said prolonged discussions had taken place in the PML to examine all its pros and cons. She regretted that no other party had discussed the enactment at the party level.

She said the rights law was in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah, and any suggestion to the contrary was baseless.

She said although the elections would be held on time, the ruling party had already started preparations for the purpose.

The minister was warmly received at the Muslim League House. A number of leaders were present there.

She also listened to the problems of workers and issued necessary instructions to solve them.