Poor performance: Punjab CM wants heads, boards of industrial estates changed

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said Monday the government wants to develop industrial estate on a plug and play model. She was chairing a meeting to review various facilities available and issues faced by the Special Economic Zones in Punjab.

She said: “We will fix issues of the past by providing maximum facilities to the industry.” She expressed indignation at the failure of institutions concerned to promote industry in the province and directed changing heads and boards of industrial estates for their poor performance.

“The performance audit of heads of industrial estates and their teams will be conducted. An industrial estate should be used for the purposes it was established for.” Meanwhile, a delegation from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the World Bank, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) called on Maryam. In the meeting, emphasis was laid on the need for effective and sustainable policy implementation. An agreement was reached on collaboration to achieve population welfare objectives. A review of aligning resources for achieving family planning program goals was conducted. Recommendations and suggestions were also discussed for improving service delivery in the Health and Population Welfare Departments.

The delegation appreciated the chief minister’s vision for public welfare and expressed commitment to continue collaboration with the Punjab government. Maryam highlighted the importance of focusing on women’s empowerment for prosperity and stressed the need to empower women in social and household matters. She mentioned the establishment of basic health units throughout the province for the health of mothers and children. The Health and Population Welfare Departments were jointly working to achieve the objectives, she concluded.

The delegation included senior health specialist Mano Bhattacharya from the World Bank, Dr Sarah Shahzad, Health Adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Dr Luay Shabaneh from the UNFPA Pakistan, provincial spokesperson Tania Durani from UNFPA, program analyst Husna Cheema and program associate Momina Asad.

The CM said, “The accused involved in a gangrape should be severely punished as per law,” referring of an alleged gangrape of a female student by two persons in Wazirabad. She sought a report from the inspector general of police in this regard.