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RAHIMYAR KHAN: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that he is being pressured to betray the People’s Party, but “I will remain loyal to my party”.
Addressing a gathering in Chachran Sharif on Saturday, the prime minister said since he was a “custodian of the seat” of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, he could not even think of doing anything unconstitutional.
Earlier, Mr Gilani inaugurated the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto (Nashter Ghat) bridge on the Indus that would link Rahimyar Khan with Rajanpur.
The prime minister said the government would create 100,000 jobs during the coming financial year. “The finance minister has been asked to ensure that the promise is fulfilled.”
He said Seraiki province was a need of the hour, fending off allegations that the government was imposing its will on the nation. “Southern Punjab is an underdeveloped area and the only solution is formation of a Seraiki province.”
Mr Gilani said “opponents are hatching conspiracies” against the PPP, but they would not succeed in causing any harm to the government. “With the help of the PML-Q, we can form our government in Punjab too, but we will not do this,” he added.
He said “our opponents would have got the federal government dismissed had they got a chance, but we will continue to support their government in Punjab nevertheless,” Mr Gilani said in an allusion to the Pakistan Muslim League-N.
Without naming the Tehrik-i-Insaf, he said a revolution could not come merely by “changing loyalties and letting in turncoats”.
The prime minister said employees of the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) had been sent to the provinces, but they had refused to own them. “I will ask the commission’s chairperson, Dr Nafeesa Shah, to reinstate all employees.”
Employees of the NCHD kept protesting throughout the function.
Mr Gilani said the government was considering setting up an engineering university and an information technology centre in Rahimyar Khan.
He also promised the construction of a flyover in Rahimyar Khan during the next financial year, a Rs50 million grant for the construction of Chachran Sharif model city, Rs100 million for establishment of a cadet college in Khanpur and Rs1 million for a water supply scheme in Feroza town.
