Musharraf looted billions, claimed to be given by King: Shahbaz

Says aristocrats give nothing to country;
declares welfare of south Punjab top priority

BAHAWALPUR: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that aristocrats have given nothing to the country except multiplying their assets. 

Addressing a function to distribute the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF) scholarships among the students at the Islamia University Bahawalpur here on Friday, he said that Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, who used to say ‘Pakistan First’, had escaped after looting billions of rupees. He said when Musharraf was caught and the truth came out in the open, he (Musharraf) told the world that he was given money by the Saudi king. 

Referring to the UK as a social welfare state and Nawab of Bahawalpur's struggle to make his state a social welfare state, Shahbaz said that the Nawab of Bahawalpur had done a great service for the country by donating millions of acres to the migrants from East Punjab and other parts of the Sub-continent, besides giving scholarships to the students irrespective of their castes. 

He said: “We launched the PEEF with Rs2 billion seven years ago and now it has enhanced to Rs17.5 billion.” About 200,000 talented students were being facilitated through the PEEF, which was a great achievement, the CM added. He said: “I congratulate PEEF Vice-Chairman Dr Amjad Saqib and his team on their remarkable services.” He said that the huge amount of scholarships being provided to the poor and talented students was a future investment and it would change the fate of the country. 

He said: “The well-furnished offices in Islamabad and Lahore are not achievements but producing a talented lot will be our achievement.”  Lauding the achievements of the Bahawalpur educational institutions, the chief minister said that more than 2,000 students of the Islamia University Bahawalpur got the scholarship amount. 

Later, talking to legislators belonging to Multan, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that development and welfare of south Punjab was the top most priority of the government. He said that the Multan Metro Bus Project would soon be inaugurated to provide the best and comfortable transport facility to the people. The CM said that critics of the metro bus system were now praising the service in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Thousands of commuters, including students, would benefit from the Multan metro bus service, he added. 

MNA Abdul Ghaffar Dogar, MPAs Ahsanuddin Qureshi, Rai Mansab Ali, Syed Mujahid Ali Shah and Saeed Ansari and former minister Chaudhry Abdul Waheed Arian were also present on the occasion. 

Later, the chief minister condoled with Governor Malik Rafiq Rajwana over the death of his nephew Muhammad Ilyas Rajwana at the Circuit House. Malik Muhammad Hafeez Rajwana, the father of Ilyas Rajwana, and Punjab Education Minister Rana Mashhood were also present on the occasion.