20pc job quota restored for S Punjab

LAHORE: The Punjab cabinet on Monday accorded approval to restoration of 20 per cent employment quota for three divisions of southern Punjab – Bahawalpur, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan Divisions – along with the districts of Bhakkar and Mianwali.

The move came on a day when the elected representatives from the region met Shahbaz and paid rich tributes to his dynamic leadership and for taking unprecedented steps for development and prosperity of southern Punjab.

They said the region had not witnessed such a development in the 70-year history of the country, describing his tenure as a golden period. They said the people of southern Punjab loved Shahbaz and the PML-N would emerge victorious from the region in the upcoming general elections.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said the PML-N government has provided resources to the region on priority basis which was why it was presenting a picture of a developed area. “Provision of their rights to the people of southern Punjab is my responsibility and I shall fulfil this obligation.

The past rulers badly ignored southern Punjab and those who have raised the slogan of southern Punjab province should first peep into their own conscience,” he added. Separately, the chief minister said public service would be the only parameter of success in the next general elections.” Those who are making tall claims of change could not complete any worth mentioning projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.

Shahbaz said those totally drenched in corruption were talking about accountability, adding that the running the destiny of the people would be held accountable in the elections. Those who met the chief minister included Punjab Minister Malik Muhammad Asif Bha, MPA Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi and MPA Haji Ahsan-ul-Din Qureshi.

Meanwhile, Shahbaz said the Indian security forces had intensified the state oppression in Held Kashmir. “Fourteen people, including 10 youth, have been martyred in a span of 36 hours in an ongoing wave of violence in Shopian district which is an act of cowardice and oppression,” he said in a statement. “The entire valley is up in protest against the Indian brutalities. The Kashmiri youth are fired with the resolve to get their right to self-determination sanctioned by the UN,” he added.

“The question is: can India rob the Kashmiris of their dreams through the use of pallet guns and bullets? Can it continue to subjugate a whole community that is prepared to render any sacrifice for their fundamental rights? How long will the world continue to look the other way as Kashmir burns? An international order that upholds morality and supports the just causes enjoys the legitimacy and ownership,” he said.