LAHORE, March 27: The Qaumi Tajir Ittehad has announced support for economic policies of President Pervez Musharraf.

Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club here on Monday, QTI supreme council chairman Mian Akbar Rashid and councillors said that traders backed policies of the government because these had facilitated the economic development.

The QTI chairman said that traders would cooperate in efforts for maintenance of law and order for it was necessary for the smooth running of business.

He said the QTI had been reorganised because president Khwaja Azhar Gulshan had decided to step down as he expected to be assigned important responsibilities in the near future.

The supreme council, he said, had nominated Ansar Zahoor Butt the new QTI chairman, Humayun Iqbal Mir the senior vice-chairman and Safdar Butt the vice-chairman. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh was nominated the new QTI president, Babar Ali Khan the senior vice-president and Waqar Hussain, Sabir Hameed Khan, Amjad Shaheen Butt, Raja Hamid Riaz, Rao Muhammad Akram Khan, Tayyab Rashid Mir, Col Mahmood Bhatti (retired), Zahid Mir and Rao Mubarik AlI Khan vice-presidents.

He said that Nazir Chohan had been nominated the new QTI secretary-general and Nazir Chohan and Haji Ashfaq deputy general secretaries, and Aslam Raza Butt the joint secretary. Sheikh Younas had been nominated the chief organiser, Sheikh Omar Hayat and Asad Noor organisers. Chaudhry Karam Elahi had been nominated the chief coordinator and Salim Arshad and Liaquat Sethi coordinators.