Posts Tagged ‘Gilgit’

Goodbye Q-League: Tariq Azeem joins PML-N

LAHORE: Former senator, federal minister for information and central information secretary of Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) Tariq Azeem announced joining Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) on Thursday.

Azeem made the announcement alongside party chief Nawaz Sharif at a press conference in Lahore.

Sharif welcomed Azeem to PML-N and said that the party will take advantage of his experience and achievements.

Azeem said that he was thankful to Sharif for inviting him to join PML-N. He said that there was a ‘big burden’ on him and he was previously sitting in a place where if he spoke the truth, people would ask why he was speaking against government performance when his party was part of the coalition.

“I have joined the real Muslim League.”

The former senator also hit out at the government saying that Sharif was the only one who had visited Siachen after the tragedy, while the others had to follow him.

Azeem asked Sharif to visit Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan to help resolve issues there.

PML-N sources had earlier said that Azeem’s services for the Sharif family and for the party had impressed Nawaz Sharif, who had accepted the former PML-Q information secretary into the party.

Nawaz says govt only interested in ‘point scoring’

Talking to the media during a news conference in Skardu, Nawaz Sharif said the rulers visited Giari only after his visit. He went on to accuse the government of not being interested in addressing public issues, but in “political point scoring.”

The former prime minister was on a two-day visit to the world’s highest battleground, where 138 soldiers and civilians are still trapped under an avalanche that descended upon them more than 10 days ago.

“Tell me, if any perpetrators of the recent violence have been arrested yet,” he questioned referring to sectarian clashes, adding that the government should also take action against the killers of journalists Wali Khan Babar and Saleem Shahzad.

Nawaz was accompanied by Senator Mushahid Ullah, Marvi Memon, Mehtab Abbasi and Pervez Rasheed.

After the press conference, he also addressed a gathering of religious leaders of various schools of thought and party workers in Skardu. Continuing his verbal onslaught, Nawaz said the present government’s four years brought nothing but price hike, unemployment and lawlessness.

He mocked the government’s call for a Seraiki province, saying that the government was not really concerned about the welfare of people.

About the plight of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, Sharif said: “I think they are being victimised for voting the PPP into power.”

He promised that his party would take up the issues faced by the people of G-B.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2012.

PML-N to raise issue of Gilgit killings in Parliament

SKARDU  – PML-N President Ex Prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharifon Wednesday said that his party would raise the issue of targeted killings in Gilgit-Baltistan. He was talking to Ulema and religious scholars of various sects and school of thoughts in Skardu.  He held a long meeting with the ulema and assured them that the PML-N would raise the issue in the Parliament. The religious leaders …

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Pakistan wants resolution of Siachen issue: Kayani

SIACHEN: Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said that Pakistan wants the resolution of the Siachen issue and other matters with India. 

Kayani, who was speaking to the media during a visit to Giari sector, said that neighbours should live together peacefully.

The army chief was visiting the area along with President Asif Ali Zardari, where both were briefed about rescue operations to search for 138 troops and civilians who were buried by a massive avalanche over a week ago.

The army chief also said that, “We will pay whatever cost we have to for the defence of Pakistan”.

Zardari and Kayani were also accompanied by Interior Minister Rehman Malik. He was received by Governor Gilgit-Baltistan Pir Karam Ali Shah, Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah, Kayani and the area Corp Commander.

The president during his visit had an aerial view of the search and rescue activities being undertaken by the army personnel. Later he was given a detailed briefing about the activities underway by Force Command Northern Areas (FCNA) Commander Major Gen Ikramul Haq.

He directed that all available resources be utilised to further expedite the operation in view of any possible snow slides due to a rise in temperature rise and that the Presidency be kept informed about the progress.

On April 7, a giant wall of snow crashed down in the Giari sector, swamping the battalion headquarters of 6 Northern Light Infantry, where 124 soldiers and 14 civilians were stationed. Rescuers have yet to pull out a single person, dead or alive.

Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif had visited the site on Tuesday and had called on both Pakistan and India to climb down from the icy battlefield. He had advised the Pakistani government to take the lead and withdraw its troops from Siachen Glacier.

He had also given away cheques for Rs 500,000 to each aggrieved family and announced that the Punjab government will provide a job to each affected family and finance the education of their children.

PML-N to raise issue of Gilgit-Baltistan killings in parliament: Nawaz

 Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Ex Prime minister Mian Nawaz SharifWednesday said that his party would raise the issue of targeted killings in Gilgit-Baltistan.
He was talking to Ulema and religious scholars of various sects and school of thoughts in Skardu.
The former prime minister held a long meeting with the Ulema and assured them that the PML-N would raise the issue in the parliament.
The religious …

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Convocation: Bright-eyed graduates set ambitions for challenging future

The 43rd annual convocation was held for the bright-eyed students of the university’s Wah and Attock campuses. Seated in ordered rows for the ceremony, the young men and women of Comsats radiated pride and confidence.

Valedictorian Saba Hafeez, while speaking on the occasion, said that a university degree is more than just a piece of paper but an acknowledgment of the arduous process students have gone through. It represents “the process of learning, of growing, of failure and success,” she added nostalgically.

But the loss of a safety net was evident when concerns were voiced by graduates over future employment opportunities. BBA graduate and silver medallist Sana Iqbal described the job market as tough. Iqbal plans to pursue a masters degree but would also like to gain work experience.

Usman Rasheed, another young graduate said that jobs advertised in the newspaper required a masters degree and he had therefore decided to continue his studies rather than to gain experience in what seemed like a shrinking job market.

Students were awarded degrees in the disciplines of Management Sciences, Computer Science and Computer Engineering. The highest scorers were also awarded 11 campus medals, four  gold, four silver and three bronze and four institute medals, one  gold, two silver and one bronze.

“It is a difficult time for us,” said Comsats Chancellor and Federal Minister of Science and Technology Changaiz Khan Jamali, adding that efforts were being made to improve academic facilities in Pakistan.

He told The Express Tribune that job creation ranks among the top two concerns for the prime minister and despite the financial crunch, top priority is being given to facilitate young graduates in getting suitable jobs. He hoped that CIIT would soon emerge as a federally chartered university which would be an important step in increasing its overall standard.

Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration Prof. Dr Syed Amjad Farid Hasnu shared that out of over 200 graduates, 60 per cent were already employed, adding that Comsats graduates are in high demand in the market.

“Youth unemployment stands at seven per cent in Pakistan, though the figure only brackets the youth between the ages of 15 to 24, which is not representative of all college graduates,” he added.

The words, “This is not the end but a new beginning” rang in the ears of the fresh graduates branded as the future architects of Pakistan.

Director Wah Campus, Dr Tayyab Akram informed the audience about scholarships being provided to intelligent and deserving students from underdeveloped and far-flung areas like the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, DI Khan and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Discussing strategic plans of Wah campus, he said that CIIT Wah was focused on providing highly skilled manpower to industries in the surrounding areas.

The director told the audience that CIIT had a student population of 17000 out of which 1700 were enrolled at Wah campus. He called upon the campus faculty to focus on research and publications so as to contribute to new developments in their fields.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2012.

Sectarian tensions: Alleged mastermind, five others arrested for GB unrest

Over 450 personnel of law enforcement agencies –army, Northern Scouts, Gilgit Scouts, Rangers and FC led by major and captain level officers equipped with mortar guns and sophisticated weapons had besieged the madrassah run by the main accused, Qari Muzamil Shah, in Chilas and warned that if he did not surrender his madrassah will be bombed. The local jirga intervened and persuaded the wanted cleric to surrender. His other accomplices arrested were identified as Sher Ghazi, son of Rustam Khan, Shamsul Haq, son of Shah Alam, Nisar, son of Munawar, the official requesting anonymity said.

The group, formed after the killing of a Sunni lawyer from Chilas in Gilgit, got training from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), led by Moulvi Asmatullah Moavia, in South Waziristan and Balochistan-based Jundullah group. The group in army fatigue on February 28 shot dead 16 passengers hauling them off buses in Kohistan district. Fifteen out of the 16 passengers killed were Shias.

The main accused, identified as Muzamil Shah, son of Abeel Khan, is a resident of Chilas and local chief of the banned anti-Shia sectarian organisation, Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) which was renamed as Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), collected hundreds of thousands of rupees as donations at a rally in Chilas in February for organising his group, sources in the security agencies said.

He was identified when he himself led the assailants in a jeep, stopped buses and shot dead six passengers.

DIG Ali Sher told The Express Tribune by telephone from Chilas that the number of accused nominated in the killing was 11 and said that the Jirga will hand over the remaining six also as investigations continue.

Mosques sealed

The two main Sunnis and Shias mosques in Gilgit were sealed in an effort to stem sectarian violence.

“The two central mosques of Shia and Sunni sects have been sealed for an indefinite period,” a senior administration official said.

The closure of mosques were part of the overall steps being taken to stem sectarian strife that has brought life in the region to a standstill, he said, adding that the fate of both the mosques would be decided in due course.

Witnesses said that after sealing the main gates of both mosques, authorities have deputed security personnel to refrain people from violating the orders given to this effect.

Another senior official in the home department told The Express Tribune that they were encouraging citizens to inform authorities about people possessing illegal arms and ammunition. “The names of such people will be kept secret,” he said.

With a curfew still imposed and cellular phones jammed, the security forces, led by the army, are still patrolling roads to bring back normalcy to the city that fell into sectarian violence early this month.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2012.

Media trip to Siachen cancelled due to harsh weather

ISLAMABAD: A media team, comprising 46 national and international journalists, that was set to fly to Siachen to report on the fatal avalanche, failed to land at the Skardu airport due to the harsh weather on Monday.

Air control tower informed aviation authorities that landing the C130 military cargo plane at Skardu airport could be dangerous as more than 55 people were onboard.

Media representatives have been persistent on undertaking a trip to the icy post to report on the incident further, however, weather conditions did not allow them. An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) official said that they tried their best to fly media to Siachen and the plane even reached Skardu, the closest air strip, but could not land due to weather conditions. He added that the weather did not allow even helicopters to fly out. Media personnel would have had to board choppers to reach Gayari, site of the avalanche tragedy.

The military official added that the visit has been postponed and will be rescheduled according to weather reports.

However, the Pakistan Meteorological Department does not expect the weather to pick up any time soon with rain/thunderstorm expected over the next 24 hours in Gilgit-Baltistan and surrounding areas.

President Asif Ali Zardari was due to visit Gayari sector, to inspect rescue operations being carried by Pakistani military with international assistance, but his staff too was informed of delays given the adverse weather situation.

Similarly, the visit of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is also waiting for the weather to lift, allowing aviation authorities to clear a trip to Siachen.

Weather, cold nothwithstanding, Jawans soldier on

Search and rescue operations at Gayari continue round the clock despite extreme odds.

According to a press release issued here by ISPR on Monday, the weather remained very harsh and posed serious challenges to the men and machines working at the avalanche site.

“The rescue work is being carried out at full speed with sufficient number of plant equipment. The exasperating work at the tunnel being dug in the compact snow of avalanche, needed to access a suspected structure to find survivors, has made good progress by using explosives. A team of German and Swiss rescuers is also rendering useful help in conforming already available data to locate the survivors,” read the statement.

Bannu jail attack a pre-planned conspiracy, says Malik

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Interior Minister Rehman Malik.—File photo

ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior minister Rehman Malik, while terming the Taliban as ‘contract killers’, said that the Taliban were involved in terrorist activities but called themselves ‘Muslims’,  DawnNews reported on Monday.

Speaking to media representatives in Islamabad, the interior minister said that Attack on Bannu jail was a pre-planned conspiracy.

The interior minister said that a new security strategy has been devised after the Bannu jail break incident.

Replying to a question about security situation in Chilas and Gilgit, Malik said that two suspects, who were allegedly involved in the violent activities, have been arrested.

“Curfew in Gilgit will be relaxed in the day-time,” the interior minister added.

Talking about the security arrangement for the upcoming Bangladesh cricket team’s visit to Pakistan, Malik said that tight security will be provided to the visiting team.

“Fans of cricket in the country will not be disappointed,” the interior minister added.

Responding to a question regarding the issue of bin Laden’ family, Malik said that interior ministry has no objections in sending the family members to their respective home countries.

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Via DAWN.com

6-hour break in Gilgit curfew

GILGIT – Curfew in the violence-hit city was relaxed Sunday for six hours on 13th day of its imposition, however ban remained imposed on wearing jackets and shawls and assembly of two or more persons.
The meeting of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly scheduled for Sunday was postponed owing to curfew, while the cell phone service also remained suspended. According to announcements made by authorities, …

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Upcoming party elections: Qureshi’s ‘nepotism’ irks PTI’s old guard

Senior party workers confided to The Express Tribune that Imran categorically rejected Qureshi’s proposed framework for party structures in Punjab and Khyber-Pakthunkhwa after PTI President Javed Hashmi and old party workers expressed serious reservations.

Qureshi had been assigned to form regional steering committees in the two provinces, a move that aimed to pave the way for holding fair party elections. In this regard, Imran has dissolved all the existing regional bodies of his party across K-P and Punjab.

A ruckus was raised by Hashmi, however, over the framework which appeared to give precedence to a majority of new party workers, all inducted from either the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) or Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).

“It will be unfair with the old guard of the party – they should not be ignored at all,” observed Hashmi during his meeting with Imran last week.

In response, Imran has established a supreme council consisting of Hashmi, Qureshi, Secretary General Dr Arif Alvi and Additional Secretary General Saifullah Niazi.

This council is to discuss the issues arising from the dissatisfaction of old party workers unhappy with the inclusion of new names in the regional steering committees. “Genuine resentment among senior party workers is growing,” observed a member of the council, adding that PTI Punjab President Mian Azhar is amongst those who are resentful of the shakeup. “Old PTI workers think that certain party leadership who joined PTI after October 30 do not value old workers and are trying to promote their own (preferred) people,” said a senior leader.

“We will raise this issue in the meeting, arguing that the new faces now running party affairs will damage its good name,” he told The Express Tribune.

The party leader added that Hashmi’s role in the party will be significant in the coming days rather than Qureshi’s, as Hashmi enjoys full respect in the party.

Sources also said resentment has also risen in the rank and file because Qureshi wants to divide Punjab into two parts (south and north) by nominating provincial party presidents of his own choice. As a result, senior PTI leaders like Mian Yahya Shah Kakakhel, Mian Rahim Shah Kakakhel and Shahid Qazi left the party in a huff recently.

Imran, meanwhile, will take a decision about office bearers in Punjab and K-P after holding a rally in Quetta on April 20. Later this process will be initiated in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

Imran has also replaced Sindh party president Nadir Khan Leghari with Naeemul Haq, who, according to party leaders, made no progress in Sindh. The decision, however, was taken through a nomination process, not an election.

Balochistan Senior Vice President Syed Zahoor Agha said those who are leaving the party are “opportunists.” However, he neither confirmed nor denied the difference of opinion among the party’s top leadership, nor denied the resentment among old party workers.

PTI Information Secretary Shafqat Mehmood, on the other hand, said Imran and Qureshi were on the “same page” when it comes to the formation of committees in Punjab and K-P.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2012.

FAFEN report : Loud rhetoric on resetting ties with US sputters in parliament

ISLAMABAD: Despite the drama and accusations, legislators seem reluctant to deliberate over ties with the US.

The joint session of the parliament from March 20-April 12 saw only one-fourth of the session time being spent on debating the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) formed to review relations with the United States.

A report published by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), which is a network of 42 NGOs working to foster democratic accountability in Pakistan, states that 94% of the parliamentarians stayed away from the debate.

Only 28 out of the 445 legislators in the National Assembly and Senate debated the PCNS report for 338 minutes. This constituted only 25% of the total session time of 22 hours and 22 minutes.

Four per cent of the National Assembly members and 13% of the Senators spoke on the ties with US that have become increasingly frail in the wake of the Nato attack on Salala check post which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last November.

The PCNS was constituted after the incident to shape up a new foreign policy. However, despite the accusations, parliamentarians were reluctant to share their thoughts on the floor of the House.

With only one-fourth of the session time being consumed for actually discussing the PCNS report, the rest of the time was taken up to discuss target killings in Karachi and Balochistan, sectarian violence in Gilgit-Baltistan, increase in prices of petroleum products and power outages along with a string of other issues.

The PCNS report was completely ignored in three sittings. In the eighth sitting it was discussed for only 15 minutes by a PPP legislator.

Though the opposition parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) rejected the first draft of the PCNS recommendations, their legislators were conspicuous by their absence during the debate.  Three PML-N Senators and two MNAs took part in the debate. The party has 104 legislators in the two houses of the parliament.

One parliamentarian each from Awami National Party (ANP), JUI-F, Mutthida Majlis-e-Amal Party (MMAP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) took part in the debate. Similarly, 32 Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) legislators in the two houses and 12 Independents in the Senate stayed away from the debate on the report.

Though 11 legislators of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) shared their thoughts on the report, they only make up seven per cent of the treasury benches in the parliament.

Now that the parliament has unanimously approved the new recommendations, the reactions and statements of other parties have begun to pour in.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2012.

Gilgit limping back to normality

GILGIT, April 15: The city is limping back to normality as a curfew imposed in Gilgit after sectarian clashes claimed at least 14 lives in the city and Chilas on April 3 was relaxed on Sunday for six hours.

City administration officials told Dawn that the situation was improving fast and people had started to resume their businesses.

The curfew remained relaxed from 12 noon to 6pm on Sunday and officials hinted at increasing the relaxation duration if peaceful conditions held.

Law-enforcement agencies kept patrolling the streets and markets to avert any untoward incident. A ban on assembly of more than two people remained in force.

“There will be no shortage of essential commodities because a number of trucks carrying foodstuffs have arrived in the city,” they said.

The officials said that magistrates had been directed to keep an eye on profiteers and punish the traders who were found overcharging the residents.

PIA flights and traffic on the Karakoram Highway remained suspended for the 12th consecutive day on Sunday, while cellphone signals are still not working in Gilgit.

The management of Karakoram International University is yet to announce new dates to hold the cancelled exams of matriculation.

Meanwhile, a grand jirga met in Chilas on Sunday and reviewed the situation.

Security along the Karakoram Highway has been enhanced.

Gilgit Deputy Commissioner Arqam Tariq said that Interior Minister Rehman Malik had cancelled his plan to visit the city because of bad weather.

Diamer SP Jamshed Khan and DSP Headquarters Muslim Khan are made officer on special duty and their successors have joined their duty in Chilas.

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Via DAWN.com

Against all odds: ‘Our morale is as high as K-2’

In 1999, the highest number of soldiers who lost their lives in the Kargil war belonged to this small district of the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

And the number of graves might increase, with as many as 13 soldiers from Ghizer district among the 138 soldiers who were hit by an avalanche in the Giari sector of Siachen Glacier on April 7.

However, despite being known as the ‘district of martyrs’, hope runs surprisingly high.

“Our morale is still as high as the K-2 Mountain,” said Shah Nazar Khan, whose younger brother, Havalder Rahbar Hassan from Yasin tehsil, is one of the 13 soldiers trapped in the avalanche.

Rahbar, 33, had joined the army in 1997.

Nazar said that on the day the avalanche occurred, his brother was supposed to leave his headquarters to spend a month at home. But, he added, luck did not allow him to meet us.

“We are still optimistic and are praying for a miracle of their safe recovery. Our brother was a true Pakistani and a brave soldier,” said Nazar, who, along with his other brother, is also a soldier in the army.

Ghizer district has four tehsils – Puniyal, Gupis, Yasin and Ishkuman, all of which have significantly contributed in their services for the defence of Pakistan.

One of Pakistan’s national heroes Haveldar Lalik Jan Shaheed, awarded with a Nishan-e-Haider for demonstrating extraordinary bravery during the Kargil war, also belonged to Ghizer district.

Known to be relatively tougher, a majority of the youth in the district traditionally prefer to join the Pakistan Army. Almost every family has more than two members serving in the military.

“We are proud that we (all three brothers) have had the opportunity to serve our country,” Nazar said, while adding that their late father was also a soldier and had inspired them to join the army.

He told The Express Tribune that he has kept the incident a secret from their aged mother and from his brother’s young children.

“Every moment is hard for us,” he said. “Our activity is confined to watching TV for updates, but every day ends with disappointment and a new day dawns with anxieties.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2012.

Sealed: No more protests in front of Parliament

After successfully negotiating with members of Majlis-e-Wahadatul Muslimeen (MWM) to end their week-long sit-in against sectarian killings outside the Parliament House, the Secretariat police on Saturday sealed the Parade Avenue and declared it a “no-go zone”.

“No protests, processions and sit-ins will be allowed at the parade lane in the future,” said an official of the Secretariat police. The police has secured the area with barbed wires on all sides and has set up standing barricades at the entry and exit points of the road, he added.

The protest camps set up by relatives of missing persons and by schoolteachers of Federally Administered Tribal Areas were earlier relocated to F-6, the official said. He added that the Ministry of Interior had decided to close the avenue due to security concerns given its proximity to the Red Zone, which houses the Parliament House and other sensitive government installations.

The decision, the official added, was expedited following the vociferous and prolonged protests by MWM against sectarian killings in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B). He said that members of Ahle-Sunnat-wal-Jamaat (ASWJ) had also threatened to stage a protest at the Parade Avenue, forewarning a possible sectarian clash.

An official of the city administration, requesting anonymity, said that while federal ministers were in talks with the MWM leaders, police contingents were put on standby to clear the area of protesters by force if talks failed by Friday night. “We could not risk a sectarian clash in the city; lives could have been lost,” he explained.

MWM calls off protest

Leaders of the MWM said that the protest was called off after both the federal government and the G-B administration agreed to implement their “mutually-accepted” charter of demands.

MWM Secretary General said a commission has been constituted to identify and probe the elements responsible for killings in Chillas and Kohistan, which will give its report to the federal government in a month.

He said that G-B Chief Minister Syed Mehdi Shah and heads of security agencies have been instructed to implement “every single demand” made by the MWM.

The government has also agreed to pay Rs2 million for each person killed in the recent G-B violence, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2012.

Judicial probe ordered into GB killings

ISLAMABAD – Majlis Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen (MWM) ended the eight-day long sit-in in Islamabad after talks with Interior Minister Rehman Malik late Friday night.
The interior minister assured the MWM leaders that a judicial commission would be constituted to investigate the sectarian killings in Chilas and Gilgit.
Dialogue between Rehman Malik and the religious leaders of the MWM lasted for four …

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Zardari urges Gilani to consult parties over Seraiki province

Prime Minister Gilani and President Zardari. – File Photo

MULTAN: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday called upon Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to immediately start consultative process with all the political parties with a view to make a separate Seraiki province in South Punjab.

The president said this during his meeting with a delegation of Peoples’ lawyer forum here.

Spokesperson to the president Senator Farhatullah Babar while giving details of the meeting said that the president was of the view that it was not politics but meant to respect and honour the aspiration of the people of South Punjab who have been feeling deprived for over sixty years and were demanding their just rights.

The president said that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) promised giving identity to the people of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and we fulfilled our promise. Similarly we gave rights to our Balochi brothers and the people of Gilgit Baltistan. Now, he said, we have promised the people of this belt to cater to their aspirations and we would do our best to honour our commitment.

He said that the people of this area have every right to demand and have their own province and the party’s leadership respect their wishes and aspirations.

He said that this was the right time to give what people have been asking for so long. “If giving rights to the people is a crime, we will continue to commit such crimes,” Senator Babar quoted the president as saying.

The president said that meeting the aspirations of the people of South Punjab would further strengthen the federation and not weaken it.

He vowed to give the rights to the people of South Punjab during the tenure of the present government.

The president also said that PM Gilani was being targeted because of his support to the Seraiki province and also for his support to the party’s leadership.

Earlier, the president also had separate meetings, one with the parliamentarians belonging to South Punjab and the other with the women office bearers of the party belonging to Multan, Khanewal, Vehari and Lodhran districts.

During his meetings, the president said that he felt great pleasure to be present among the representatives of the South Punjab and he would be regularly visiting the belt in future also.

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Via DAWN.com