Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf announced a special assistance of Rs. 20 million for each member of the provincial assembly belonging to Khyber Paktunkhwa for development projects in their respective constituencies. He also directed the Ministry of finance for prompt release of these funds.
The Prime Minister made these announcements in a meeting with members of provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa belonging to Pakistan People’s Party who called on him on Sunday.
The Prime Minister paid rich tributes to the people, law enforcement agencies and legislators of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa for their courageous role in the war against terror.
The Prime Minister said that the nation owes much to the sacrifices rendered by them. He assured them that the federal government would extend all possible assistance to the provincial government in its efforts to develop and work for the welfare of people of the province.
The Prime Minister said that the strengthening of democratic institutions and norms in the country owe much to the wisdom, patience and love for Pakistan of President Asif Ali Zardari. His resolve “Pakistan Khappay” at a time when our great leader Shaheed Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto was martyred and the country was about to enter in a transitional period from dictatorship to democracy will always be written in Golden words.
The Prime Minister said that politics of reconciliation, promotion of culture of tolerance and strengthening of democratic institutions are policies which the present government pursued since taking over the government. These guiding principles enabled the government to present five budgets and was now preparing for the next general elections, he added. Political stability and continuity are critical for the overall progress and prosperity of the country, said the Prime Minister.
He rejected various sample surveys highlighted in the media and said that such surveys based on few thousand people could not form a valid basis for measuring the popularity of any political party in a country. Those who subscribed to such surveys were now saddened by their lowered ratings, he remarked.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan People’s Party being the only Federal level party was twice put to test for electing Chief Executive of the country. Besides, it contested and won several by-elections despite being opposed by the combined opposition. This he said was the true test of popularity.
The Prime Minister said that he took pride in being a worker of PPP and assured the KP legislators of his support in their endeavours to solve people’s problems. “I am one of you and together we will work for the welfare of the people of Pakistan”, said the Prime Minister.
Congratulating the new provincial PPP president, Anwar Saifullah Khan the Prime Minister expressed the hope that under his leadership the party organization would be further strengthened and streamlined to reach the people and resolve their issues.
The Prime Minister also lauded the role of President Women Wing PPP, Faryal Talpur MNA for her tireless efforts to reach party workers, organize them and to resolve their issues in her unique way.
The meeting was attended by President Women Wing PPP, Faryal Talpur MNA, Federal Minister for Political Affairs Maula Bakhsh Chandio, Speaker Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Assembly, Kiramatullah Khan Chugharmati, Senior Minister Rahim Dad Khan, Provincial Health Minister, Syed Zahir Ali Shah, PPP Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa President, Anwar Saifullah Khan and other MPAs belonging to Pakistan People’s Party.
