Focus on education, health reforms: CM

LAHORE

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif presided over a meeting which reviewed various proposals for provision of better services to the people, capacity building of government departments and improvement of social sectors. 

The meeting also discussed different researches of local and foreign economists for the betterment of social sectors, increase in resources, improvement of tax system and provision of better services to the masses.

Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that a number of basic reforms were being introduced for providing excellent services to the people.

He said the government was making the all-out effort for providing maximum facilities to the masses in education and health sectors.

He said that quality education was the right of every child and the Punjab government was spending billions of rupees for the promotion of education in the province.

MNA: Shahbaz Sharif has said that Pakistani women are very talented and hard working and have proved their abilities in different sectors. He said the Punjab government had taken solid measures for the progress of women and bringing them into national mainstream.

He said that women had been given 33 percent representation on all decision-making boards and committees while their quota in government jobs increased from 5 percent to 15 percent.

He said that working hostels were being set up in various districts for the benefit of working women.

He said that vocational training courses were being conducted under Punjab Vocational Training Council for economic empowerment of women.

He said that special centres were being established in the province for the protection of women rights and controlling violence against them.

Talking to MNA Shaista Pervaiz Malik, the chief minister said that men and women would have to make collective efforts for transforming Pakistan into an Islamic Welfare State in accordance with the principles of founders of the country and elimination of poverty and ignorance from society.

He said that Pakistan could not make progress without participation of women in development process and giving them due status in society. 

He said the Punjab government had published the first Gender Parity Report- 2016 in South Asia in the light of which further steps would be taken for women development.

Shaista Pervaiz Malik MNA congratulated Chief Minister Shahbaz Sahrif on taking historic measures for the empowerment of women and protection of their rights. She commended the legislation carried out by Punjab Assembly for the protection of the rights of women. 

APPAREL PARK PROJECT: Shahbaz Sharif has said that Apparel Park project will play an important role in the development of textile and garments sector besides generation of lakhs of job opportunities.

He said that there is a need to further this project in a professional manner and all departments and institutions concerned should work with close coordination.

He was addressing a meeting at Civil Secretariat through a video link here Thursday which reviewed matters relating to Quaid-e-Azam Apparel Park project.

He said that a labour colony and a state-of-the-art skill development centre would also be set up under the project. He reprimanded authorities concerned over delay in some matters pertaining to the project and warned that no delay in the implementation of the project would be tolerated.