Category: Lahore

LAHORE:Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar on Friday inaugurated the provincial anti-polio drive at his office by administering anti-polio drops to the children.

A squad of one lakh and twenty thousand polio workers will administer drops to 20 million children of two to five years of age in 36 districts during the five-day-long campaign starting from March 29.

Talking on the occasion, the CM said a 100 per cent vaccination target will be achieved to completely overcome polio. Anti-corona SoPs will also be followed by polio workers visiting every knock and corner to achieve the targets, he said. The DCs and ACs should work hard to achieve the targets and children from other provinces should also be administered this vaccine, he added and asked the parliamentarians to play their role because the government is striving hard to make Punjab a polio-free province. Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid also administered anti-polio drops.

LAHORE:PML (N) MPA Ashraf Ansari called on Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office Friday and thanked the chief minister for the development package for Gujranwala. Yunis Ansari and Tahir Bashir Cheema were also present.

The CM has won the hearts of the people by announcing a university for Gujranwala and the city will progress under the leadership of Usman Buzdar, he added and further thanked the chief minister for the provision of 106 vehicles to Gujranwala Waste Management Company for cleanliness.

Yunis Ansari said linkage with the Lahore-Sialkot motorway will solve the longstanding demand of the locals. We are thankful to you and have full trust over your leadership, he added and regretted that cleanliness and other issues were badly ignored in the past.

Talking on the occasion, the CM said composite development is a commitment and the government is working for serving the masses. My doors are always open for resolving public-related issues and I will also monitor the development projects for their timely completion because Gujranwala is my own city. Meanwhile, the people have rejected the negative narratives of the opposition and the unnatural PDM alliance has also died, he added.

LAHORE:Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired a ceremony organized by WHO, at his office, to acknowledge the services rendered by Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid during corona.

According to a statement on Friday, the chief minister and WHO’s country head in Pakistan presented a shield to Dr Yasmin Rashid for performing duties as a frontline worker during the corona pandemic. WHO representative said the health minister has worked hard to save thousands of lives under the leadership of CM Usman Buzdar.

The CM stated the international acknowledgement of the work done by Dr Yasmin Rashid is a matter of pride for the Punjab government. The government has provided ample resources to the health department to efficiently deal with this virus, he added and stated that 2451 new cases have been reported during the last 24 hours while 43 others have also lost their lives in the province. A total of 6140 have died of corona while the number of active cases has soared to 20274, he added.

As much as 3719232 tests have been conducted and the citizens should remain very careful in the third corona wave, the CM said. The people should follow anti-corona guidelines as the vaccination of elderly citizens is underway, he further said. The health minister thanked the WHO and the chief minister adding that the government is working hard to deal with the third wave.

LAHORE:Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has said PDM’s rallying cry for a long march has met its logical end.

In a statement, the CM said those giving ultimatum of the long march were trying to disrupt the development process, adding that the gang of opportunists had tried to take in the people for its personal gains. It is, however, heartening that PDM’s every conspiracy had remained unsuccessful, he said. “This unnatural alliance is meaningless before the transparent politics of PM Imran Khan and there is no room for the specific agenda espoused by the opportunists’ lobby,” he continued.

Buzdar said the tragic death of the PDM is a clear message to the opportunists as their mean politics had been fully exposed. The PDM’s failure in Punjab is the retribution for its past decisions. It is better that the rejected elements should adopt a positive approach and shun their anarchistic designs, concluded the CM.

LAHORE:Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar Thursday disclosed that during the tenure of former Chief Minister Nawaz Sharif, 1352 plots worth billions of rupees were illegally given to one Senator, 16 assembly members and their relatives in different LDA schemes in Lahore.

He stated this while addressing a press conference at his office. PM’s accountability advisor Barrister Shehzad Akbar and SACM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan were also present. He said these plots were distributed in violation of rules under discretionary quota. 646 plots were distributed in Johar Town, 260 in Sabzazar, 191 in Tajpura, 108 in Gujjar Pura, 37 in Allama Iqbal Town, 32 in Model Town, 31 in Faisal Town and five other plots were illegally allotted in Gulberg and the discretionary quota was violated, according to a handout.

These plots were meant for orphans, widows, widows of martyrs, journalists, ulema and sports players under discretion but this right of discretion was used for political bribery. The incumbent government has directed the ACE to investigate the illegal allotment of plots in different LDA schemes. Action will be taken against illegal beneficiaries as well as those who had illegally allotted such plots. Indiscriminate action will be initiated against those found involved in illegal activities and no leniency will be shown.

Giving the details, the CM said Nawaz Sharif illegally allotted plots worth billions of rupees during his tenure of chief ministership from 1985-90 in Punjab. These plots were allotted in violation of discretionary quota and Qamar-uz-Zaman Khan played an important role in the illegal allotment of these plots. Qamar-uz-Zaman was an employee of the Malaria Control Programme; and from there, he was appointed as DG LDA by Nawaz Sharif. Then he was posted as private secretary to PM Nawaz Sharif in 1997. He was also deputed as political secretary to CM Shahbaz Sharif in 2008. Qamar-uz-Zaman Khan illegally allotted precious plots to political personalities and public representatives in Lahore and violated merit as the front man. MPA Raja Ishfaq Sarwar (Late) was illegally allotted 14 plots, he added.

The CM said that ACE has been directed to take legal action adding that recovery will also be made. Laws were blatantly violated in the past but the incumbent government will ensure the supremacy of rule of law and transparency will be maintained because it is the new Pakistan of PM Imran Khan and no one will be allowed to do any illegal activity. The PTI has come into power to serve the masses, he emphasized.

Regrettably, the CM deplored that no past government took any action over the illegal allotment of plots in different LDA schemes nor anyone held accountability. Rather, this huge political bribery was hushed up, he said. Meanwhile, the PTI government has adopted transparency and past corruption has been exposed as the government fully believes in the rule of law and transparency. Action will be initiated against all such illegal acts, he assured. The CM stated that discretionary powers are not used by the incumbent government and not a single inch of state land has been allotted to anybody over political affiliation.

Replying to the question, the CM asserted that not only recovery will be made but penalties will also be recovered from the illegal beneficiaries. Retrieval of state land is not a temporal act but a permanent process and no one will be allowed to grab the state land, he added.

To another question, the CM said a 7 billion Ramazan Package will be given to provide relief through a network of more than 300 Sahulat Bazaars. The rates of different items will be according to 2018. To another question, he assured to retrieve land in journalist colony and action will be initiated against those involved in an illegal act. The journalists will be given their rights, he assured. The CM disclosed that preparations are underway for local bodies elections and announced to take action after an inquiry of LWMC affairs. No illegal activity will be tolerated, he emphasized.

PM Advisor Shehzad Akbar said that politics means public service now and emphasized that the style of ‘Changa Manga’ and ‘mafia’ will not be allowed to work now. Those who came into power through non-party 1985 elections hijacked the politics and indulged in the spate of corruption and loot. These are the people who never took food from their homes and blatantly wasted public resources.

He congratulated CM Usman Buzdar and his team for disclosing mega corruption and announced that disciplinary action will be taken for illegally allotted plots. Recovery will be made to eke out good results, he added. To a question, he said that Raja Ishfaq Sarwar got 14 plots and Khizar Hayat, Mehmood-ul-Hassan and others also made hay while the sun shined. He disclosed that around 2000 plots were allotted during the CMship of Nawaz Sharif and out of it, 1352 plots were illegally allotted.

This illegal allotment was hushed up from 1990 till today. The PTI government has freed institutions from political pressure to help them to independently perform. Punjab government retrieved around one lakh and 46 thousand acres state land worth Rs. 425 billion from squatters. SACM said that the PTI government believes in transparency and this process will be permanently continued. SMBR, DG LDA, Secretary Information, DGPR and others were also present.

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired a meeting at his office to review the establishment of Punjab Sahulat Bazars Authority and extension in the scope of sahulat bazaars across the province. Industries Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal, chief secretary, secretary industries and others attended the meeting.

The CM gave in-principle approval to the establishment of Punjab Sahulat Bazar Authority by disbanding Punjab Model Bazar Management Company. The chief minister will be the patron-in-chief while the industries minister will perform as chairperson of the authority. He directed to early complete the identification of land for setting up subsidized sahulat bazaars in districts. The CM affirmed that kisan platforms will be established in the sahulat bazaars to facilitate the farmers to directly sell their agri products.

This authority will establish sahulat bazaars in various parts of the province while the facility will also be extended to the level of every district and tehsil to function round-the-year. The facility of sahulat bazaars will rid the people of price-hike; he maintained adding that more than 400 sahulat bazaars will be established by the authority to provide flour and other essential items at notified rates. The government will go to every extent to control prices for providing substantial relief to the citizens, reiterated the CM.

LAHORE: A delegation of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), led by former president Mian Anjum Nisar and senior vice president Shahzeb Akram, called on Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office to discuss problems being faced by the industrialists. Industries Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal, secretary industries, CEO PBIT and others were also present.

Talking on the occasion, the CM assured to resolve the genuine problems of the business community without delay and assured to continue parleys in future as well. The corona has affected business activities while the government gave a relief package to the business community to let business activities continue, he said. Now, another corona wave has surfaced. The government understands the genuine issues of the business community and a focal person will be deputed in the CM Office to help resolve their problems, he assured. We will counter the latest virus attack while managing business activities; the CM stated and assured to take every possible step to facilitate the business community as it is the linchpin of the economy.

The CM iterated that solid steps have been taken to ensure ease of doing business and assured to provide every possible facility for business activities. The PTI government has improved the business environment as industrial development is imperative to strengthen the economy, he added. The CM assured that the existing industrial estates will also be developed along with the establishment of new industrial zones where facilities will be provided on a priority basis to promote pro-industry culture in the province. The rapid industrial development will generate new employment opportunities while strengthening the economy, concluded the CM.

Irfan Iqbal Sheikh appreciated that exemplary steps have been taken to provide a conducive business environment. The quantum of tasks accomplished by the incumbent government is larger than the work done by the previous governments, he added.

Those who called on the CM included Ch. Muhammad Saleem vice president FPCCI, Muhammad Arif Yousaf Jiwa vice president, Raja Muhammad Anwar vice president (Punjab), Nasir Khan vice president (Baluchistan), Muhammad Nawaz vice president chamber of small traders, Muhammad Ali Mian coordinator (Punjab) FPCCI, MA Zaka-ur-Rehman former chairman PPMA, Nadeem Qureshi convener central standing committee (FPCCI) and others.