LAHORE, Dec 23: Governor-designate Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood and Punjab PPP president Manzoor Wattoo discussed political and administrative affairs of the province in a meeting held here in the late hours of Sunday.

Mahmood, a PML-F leader, is reported to have assured Wattoo that he would work for the betterment of the PPP while discharging his duties as governor in line with the Constitution.

He reportedly pledged not to seek state security for himself and living in his own residence instead of making the Governor’s House as his abode.

Larkana meeting: Pakistan People’s Party Punjab chapter President Manzoor Wattoo presided over a meeting of party office-bearers from five divisions and districts in their jurisdictions here on Sunday to discuss preparations for attending the Dec 27 public meeting of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Larkana.

The public meeting will mark the 5th death anniversary of the late Benazir Bhutto.

The party cadre was told that a separate space would be earmarked in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh for the meeting participants from Punjab to ascertain how many people were actually there to make the show a big success.

Later, the party held a farewell dinner for outgoing governor Latif Khosa.

Commenting on Tahirul Qadri’s assertions in the Lahore public meeting, Wattoo said slogans like accountability before elections were raised by dictators.

Chiding Qadri, he said the religious leader’s talk of giving a priority to accountability over elections was ill-timed as the country was now heading towards fresh elections.

He said each party was talking of continuity of the (democratic) system and the peaceful transition and Qadri’s remarks on the occasion were “unbecoming, ill-timed and absurd”.—Staff Reporter