LARKANA, Nov 17: Federal Minister for Textile Industry Rana Mohammed Farooque Saeed said on Monday that the government was taking measures to pull textile industry out of crisis.

Talking to journalists in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto after offering fateha and laying floral wreaths on Bhuttos’ graves, the minister said that efforts were being made to make the sick and closed textile units operational. Under the prevailing conditions the country would not need more loans, he said.

He said that the PPP was comfortably working with the coalition partners in line with political philosophy of its slain leader Ms Benazir Bhutto. Her mission would be accomplished, he vowed.

Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, minister of state for communication, said that the ministry would look into all the ongoing and stalled projects being executed by the National Highway Authority (NHA) at a meeting on Tuesday in Islamabad.

He said that the government was planning to spread network of roads to connect all the provinces. To a question about construction of a portion of motorway between Sehwan and Ratodero, the minister said that work would soon be started. The route would connect it with Ratodero-Gwadar motorway trunk.

Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti told journalists in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto that his ministry was collecting facts about encroachments on temples, churches and Dharamshals.

Once the survey had been completed the government would initiate work on removal of encroachments.

To a question about the kidnapping of minority people, he said the government was fully aware of minorities’ problems and was committed to provide them security.

He said that the government had decided to allocate five per cent quota to minorities in services and its implementation would start soon. Local panchayat committees would have a key role in accommodating selected people for jobs, he said.

Federal Minister for Youth Affairs Shahid Bhutto said that the government had focused its attention on training the educated youth in different skills so that they could be sent abroad.