PPP south Punjab president Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood addressing a press conference in Bahawalpur. PHOTO: ONLINE
BAHAWALPUR: Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would soon visit the district to address public gatherings, PPP south Punjab president Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood said on Friday.
He was talking to journalists at the residence of High Court Bar Association president Nawazish Pirzada.
He said Bilawal Bhutto would hold his first public address on March 26. He would address a Youth Convention and a Women’s Convention at Ashraf Sugar Mills on March 27 and March 28.
Mehmood said that in the local government elections Rahim Yar Khan had proved that it is a stronghold of the PPP.
“The people of Rahim Yar Khan have reposed their faith in the PPP.” Bilalwal Bhutto will participate in various meetings and will address party officials and workers on March 27 and March 28, he said.
“The people of south Punjab reject the supremacy of Takht-i-Lahore...We demand a separate province,” Mehmood said.
There has been no substantial injection of funds in south Punjab from the Rs400 billion development funds announced in the 2015-2016 Budget, he said.
Mehmood said Rs16 billon should have been allocated to every district in the province. “However, most of the funds were doled out on the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project and the Metro Bus projects orchestrated from Lahore.”
A few years ago, the Provincial Assembly and the National Assembly had passed a resolution to create a Bahawalpur province, he said.
“All that remains now is the implementation...we will pressure the government to create more provinces.”
He said the party had planned the largest public gathering in Rahim Yar Khan on March 26. Bilalwal Bhutto’s visit to Rahim Yar Khan will be a historic gathering, he said.
“We have told our workers not to bring people in buses to the gathering. Everyone should be there on their own. Large screens will be installed in front of the venue so that people can also witness the proceedings.”
Mehmood said the PPP was at the forefront of a struggle for democracy and solidarity in Pakistan.
He also discussed updates on the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed case.
Mehmood also commented on the recent incident at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur where Minister for Cooperatives Iqbal Channar had a tussle with the vice chancellor there. “I condemn the minister’s behaviour.”
He said that PPP Bahawalpur district president Aamir Yar Waran had been given the responsibility of making arrangements for Bilalwal Bhutto’s visit.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2016.
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