Qureshi, Buzdar discuss south Punjab issue
National
April 6, 2021
LAHORE: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi called on Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office on Monday and discussed with him south Punjab and various other issues.
The chief minister shared with the foreign minister the south Punjab secretariat matters and steps taken in that regard. He said that south Punjab would witness record development during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. He said that the share of south Punjab in schools up-gradation would be 38 percent.
The CM said people gave a thumping majority to the PTI in south Punjab and the defeated elements were spreading propaganda against the government like scrapping of the south Punjab secretariat plans by the government.
The opposition lodged a strong protest when Speaker Asad Qaiser refused to refer the matter to a house committee. Photo courtesy: NA Twitter
ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday abruptly prorogued the National Assembly session even without completing the question hour after failing to meet the requirement of quorum following a noisy protest by the opposition when a minister informed the house that the Prime Minister Office had “dropped” the complaint of a woman alleging harassment to her and her family by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal.
The opposition, while criticising Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan over the reply, lodged a strong protest when Speaker Asad Qaiser refused to refer the matter to a house committee.
CM orders provision of sugar at fixed rate
Lahore
April 6, 2021
LAHORE:Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has directed for ensuring provision of sugar at a fixed rate in the province and directed for taking necessary steps in this regard.
Chairing a meeting to review the situation of sugar stocks, rate and availability in the markets, the CM directed the ministers to monitor the sugar situation while visiting divisional headquarters and districts, adding steps be initiated for provision of sugar from sugar mills at a fixed rate.
The stocks of those failing to sell sugar at fixed rate will be taken into custody for auction, he added and directed for expediting action against those selling sugar at an exorbitant rate. The CM made it clear that the government wants to give relief to the poor strata and added that registration of FIRs, arrests and fines be imposed on profiteers.
In this file photo, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi speaks to the media in Multan. DawnNewsTV/File
MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Sunday the notification to scrap the powers of the south Punjab secretariat was a conspiracy against the Punjab government as neither the chief minister nor the provincial ministers hailing from the region were aware of it.
Talking to the media here, Mr Qureshi said he would demand that the chief minister hold an inquiry into the issue.
The foreign minister said he was out of the country when his son Zain Qureshi sent him [through WhatsApp] the notification to curtail the powers of the south Punjab secretariat and he was astonished to see it.
Five Senators separate the government from the opposition. Photos AFP/File
It was March 15. It was the Senate. It was Rome. It was 44 BC. There was much stabbing.
It is March 12. It is the Senate. It is Islamabad. It is 2021. Will there be proverbial stabbing?
Five Senators separate the government from the opposition. With 52 votes in hand, the opposition candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani is confident of his victory. As a student of history, he should not be. With 47 votes in hand, the government’s candidate Sadiq Sanjrani is equally confident of his victory. He comes armed with official largesse and powerful backers. As a student of politics, he should not be. Senators have a long history of cloaking daggers in their sleeves and plunging them in unsuspecting backs.