Punjab Information Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal Thursday said the opposition parties were insincere with each other and a protest campaign against the government was out of question in October or in later months.
Talking to the media after planting a sapling at the Family Park, Samanabad, here Thursday, he said the opposition parties had lost people’s confidence and people were not ready to take to the streets for them, adding that why Lahore only, the opposition parties were welcome to hold protests in all cities across Punjab.
To a query, he said Nawaz Sharif's campaign to prove him a victim had flopped badly, adding that Nawaz-League was practising politics of “wait and see”. Responding to a query, he said PPP’s Chairman Bilawal Bhutto had taken the right decision of parting ways with Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is on path of political misadventure.
About the money-laundering case against Maryam Nawaz and Hamza Shahbaz, he said the case was quite transparent and everything had been proved against them with tangible evidence by the investigation agencies. Earlier, he said Lahore had been turned into a waste land through overlapping concrete structures by the PML-N government, adding that the PTI-led government in Punjab was working to restore balance through plantation campaign under which 400,000 saplings would be planted in a year in various parts of the provincial metropolis.
Aslam Iqbal said the plantation drive had been launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan and the entire nation would take it forward in all parts of the country. He said plantation was the best antidote to climate change. He hailed the unsung heroes -- gardeners -- for their tireless efforts to turn the cities green and fight the climate change.
The minister appreciated the role of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) in beautifying the city. Benami properties: Punjab Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Muhammad Basharat Raja Thursday stressed identification of Benami (anonymous) properties throughout the province by Sept 30, as directed by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He was chairing a meeting of Chief Minister’s Provincial Committee on Benami Transactions here at Civil Secretariat. Minister for Revenue Malik Muhammad Anwar, Chief Secretary, Punjab, Yousuf Nasim Khokhar, Additional Chief Secretary Sardar Ijaz Ahmed, Senior Member Board of Revenue Shaukat Ali and other officers were also present.
The meeting reviewed the strategy for identifying Benami properties in the province.
Raja Basharat said that special attention should be paid to major cities where disclosure of more unnamed properties was likely. He urged the departments concerned to utilise all resources to make the campaign a success. The chief secretary directed all commissioners and deputy commissioners to identify the anonymous properties and report the obstacles they faced in identifying these properties, so that they could be removed.
The next meeting would be held on Sept 17 to assess the progress, he said. Senior Member Board of Revenue told the meeting that according to the report received, some anonymous properties had been identified in Lahore, Bahawalpur, Multan, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad divisions.
