FAISALABAD, Feb 17: President Pervez Musharraf has announced a Rs5 billion package for the development of Faisalabad district.

He announced this in response to city district nazim Rana Zahid Touseef’s welcome address while addressing a public meeting at the Iqbal Stadium.

During the visit, the president also performed the ground breaking of M-3 Industrial Estate.

He urged the industrialists to focus on engineering as textiles made only six per cent of the total world trade.

“We have to give more attention to the engineering sector that accounts for 61 per cent of the world trade,” he said.

The president said the government would consider reducing the price of gas for industries while efforts were being made to develop other energy sources. He said talks to import gas from Iran were in progress.

Governor Khalid Maqbool, Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi and Touseef also spoke.

Separately, the District Bar Association (DBA) on Saturday staged a protest rally against the government’s failure to set up a Lahore High Court bar bench in Faisalabad promised by the president.

The rally led by DBA President Tanveer Randhawa started from the bar office and after passing through the Clock Tower intersection terminated at the starting point. Carrying banners and placards, the protesters chanted slogans against the government and in favour of their demands.

Earlier, a meeting of the DBA was held in which lawyers demanded the immediate establishment of the Lahore High Court bench in the district.