South-central conundrum: Rajwana a good choice for Punjab governor, says Khosa

Ex-governor says Ghazi University and Dera Ghazi Khan medical college have not been completed in six years.

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

“The appointment of Malik Rafiq Rajwana as governor of the Punjab is a step in the right direction,” former governor Zulfiqar Khosa said on Friday.

He was talking to The Express Tribune at his residence. “In appointing him, the government has recognised efforts of Muslim League stalwarts who have remained loyal to the party through thick and thin.”

Khosa said ideologues of the Muslim League were happy about the new governor’s appointment.



He said Rajwana had joined the party in 1985. He said he had stood by the party through good times and bad.

“From 1997 to 2008, he helped hundreds of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers through his legal practice,” he said.

Khosa said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had ignored the people of south Punjab in the past.

“The masses here waiting for a messiah to rescue them from poverty, violence and disease,” he said. “People here feel deprived and alienated.”

He said he was hopeful that Muslim League leaders would hear his call. “I want to revive the Muslim League so that it can serve the masses better.

Khosa said the disparity between south and central Punjab was evident from the fact that only 12 people represented south Punjab in the parliament. “On the other hand, in central Punjab, there are often 12 MNAs from just one division,” he said.

“Truth is that those of us in south Punjab are few in numbers. This is why rulers find it acceptable to ignore and oppress us,” he said.

He said the disparity between south and central Punjab had resulted in an unjust division of resources. “The government has launched a number of development programmes to lift living standards in central Punjab.”

“Here in south Punjab, there are more ghost schools and broken roads,” he said. He said the government also had neglected law and order in an important region of the province.

“Policemen are being kidnapped by criminal gangs and there is no investigation or accountability for this,” he said. He said load shedding hours in south Punjab had doubled.

“All development works seem to be aimed exclusively for central Punjab,” he said. “Whereas Ghazi University project and Dera Ghazi Khan medical college projects, worth Rs2 billion, have not been completed in over six years.”

He said while farmers of central Punjab were being facilitated by ministers, many were running from pillar to post to obtain gunny bags in south Punjab. He said the government hardly ever released water in time for farmers of south Punjab to grow their crop.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2015.