LAHORE: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday said new provinces would be created before the upcoming general election and the PPP would form the next government in the Punjab.
The president is on a two-day visit to Lahore to draw up a strategy for the next general polls.Talking to the media at the Governor House, President Zardari said the general elections would be held on time. The president maintained that he had transferred his powers to parliament on his own, adding that the PPP government would not abandon the people in their hour of need. He condemned the fire incidents in Lahore and Karachi and condoled with the bereaved families, saying that all-out assistance would be extended to the victims of fire and flood victims.
Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira was also present on the occasion and presented awards to 26 well-known personalities, including Mian Amir, who was awarded the Son of Lahore title.
The president said the PPP would award party tickets only to sincere and committed comrades.Meanwhile, Deputy PM Pervaiz Elahi called on President Asif Ali Zardari and discussed the law and order situation with him.
Earlier, on his arrival at the old airport, the president was received by Federal Minister for National Heritage and Integration Samina Khalid Ghurki, Punjab Governor Latif Khan Khosa, Opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz Ahmed, PPP Punjab President Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, Punjab IG Haji Habib-ur-Rehman, Faiza Malik, Ashraf Sohna and Punjab Chief Secretary Nasir Mahmood Khosa. The president was accompanied by Kaira and proceeded to the Governor House.
Meanwhile, addressing a meeting called to discuss the political situation in the province, President Zardari directed the party leadership to start preparing for the next general elections in the country and asked the workers to increase their contacts with the people. The Punjab governor, Pervaiz Elahi, Kaira and other prominent leaders were also present.
The president said the party would not issue tickets to parliamentarians who had shown poor performance, and expressed the hope that the PPP would form its governments at the centre and in the Punjab with the help of allied parties.
He also visited the Mayo Hospital and inquired about the health of victims of the Lahore factory fire. Earlier, talking to reporters, he said the government would comply with the demands of the Election Commission of Pakistan.