Governor, CM join Kashmir rally

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Friday participated in a rally organised to express solidarity with the Kashmiri brethren at Faisal Chowk, The Mall.

Provincial ministers, including Basharat Raja, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Yasir Humayun, Anser Majeed Khan, Hashim Jawan Bakht, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Punjab President Ijaz Chaudhry, chief secretary and inspector general of police (IGP) Punjab participated in the rally.

A large number of people from all walks of life also participated in the rally. They were wearing black armbands in protest against the Indian barbarism and atrocities in the Held Kashmir.

Sirens were blared at 12-00 noon. After it, the national anthem was played, followed by the anthem of Kashmir. One-minute silence was also observed and traffic remained stopped. Special prayers were also offered for the success of Kashmir freedom movement.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said on the occasion that India's worst treatment in Held Kashmir was unprecedented in the human history. Whole Pakistani nation has given a message to the world that Pakistan was firmly standing with Kashmiris, he added.

He said Narendra Modi government in India had gone to every extent to make the lives of Kashmiris hell in the Valley. India, which is a so-called claimant of democracy, has violated democratic norms and human rights in IHK, he regretted.

The world community observed that every Pakistani was agitating against Indian brutalities in the Valley. strategy: Usman Buzdar presided over a meeting at his office Friday and reviewed proposals for construction and operationalisation of hospitals under the public-private partnership.

Addressing the meeting, he said that public-private partnership practice would be promoted for construction of hospitals in future. He said that a comprehensive business model should be devised for the purpose, adding that final recommendations should be presented after studying international models.

He said the health sector was ignored in the past, but the PTI government believed in the best service delivery. He said that special attention would be paid for the best service delivery through the public-private model, he added.

The chief minister said that a strategy should be devised to implement the idea of a health city and final recommendations should be presented to him. The secretary specialised healthcare & medical education briefed the meeting about the proposed programme of construction and operationalisation of hospitals through public-private partnership.

notice: Usman Buzdar has taken notice of a matter pertaining to the marriage of a Sikh community girl in Nankana Sahib and constituted a committee comprising Law Minister Basharat Raja, Energy Minister Akhtar Malik and Minister for Disaster Management Khalid Mehmood.

The committee would submit its report to the chief minister after completing investigation. LWMC performance: Usman Buzdar visited the head office of Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) on Friday and presided over a meeting for reviewing the department’s performance and the cleanliness arrangements.

The meeting also discussed LWMC performance and future needs. Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that providing neat and clean atmosphere to the citizens was the responsibility of the government adding that the best mechanism of cleanliness should be devised for Lahore and other cities. He made it clear that wasting public money in the name of cleanliness could not be allowed and said that indigenous machinery production industry should be promoted for cleaning cities.

The government will encourage the private sector for waste-to-energy production, he added. He said that organic fertilizer should be produced from solid waste for using the same for agriculture purposes and financial resources should be produced by using it in a feasible manner. Such innovative means would help in managing solid waste along with producing additional resources; he added and directed the LWMC to develop a comprehensive strategy for financial self-reliance. LWMC Chairman Riaz Hameed and MD Ajmal Bhatti briefed the chief minister.