Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday said the issue of a Seraiki province was under consideration by the Manifesto Committee of the PPP and headway on the matter was expected “very soon”. He was talking to the reporters after addressing a public gathering at Jalalpur Pirwala, a tehsil of Multan district.
The prime minister inaugurated the Rs 1,616 million Musa Pak Shaheed Bridge and performed ground-breaking of a water supply scheme and the campus of Virtual University in the town.The prime minister said he had announced to include the issue of the Seraiki province in the party’s election manifesto during his last visit to Jalalpur Pirwala and President Asif Ali Zardari had formed a Manifesto Committee which was deliberating upon the issue. “Several other parties are also in favour of a Seraiki province,” he added.
The prime minister vowed to develop the southern Punjab by setting up colleges, universities and building roads. He said the PPP’s political rivals should serve the people instead of misleading them.Gilani said the government had added 2,000MW to the national grid and promised to increase power generation by 30 percent by the end of PPP’s five-year term.Asked about PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s demand regarding the establishment of a commission to probe into the PNS Mehran attack, Gilani said the government realised the significance of the issue and had done what needed to be done.
He made it clear that there would be no compromise on issues of national security. To a question whether the attitude of the PML-N reflected its sincerity and commitment to the politics of reconciliation, Gilani said every positive initiative to support the politics of reconciliation had been taken by the PPP alone. When asked about the opposition’s protests over external loans during the budget speech, the prime minister said the opposition had a right to criticise the government.
Gilani said the government increased salaries of employees by 15 percent despite financial difficulties, adding that the government should have been praised instead of being criticised.