Govt policies hurting people: Pervaiz

LAHORE

Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) senior central leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Ch Pervaiz Elahi has said whether it is a protest of PIA’s educated employees or a Model Town tragedy the rulers have only one solution, which is “killing the people”.

“They (PML-N leaders) have no brain or wisdom to solve the matters through negotiations, he added. The former chief minister Punjab himself said Orange Line was also their project, which involved no subsidy or any poor man's house demolition. He said historical buildings of Lahore were also to be protected in their proposed project.

According to a press release issued on Saturday, the PML-Q leader said this while responding to questions from journalists at the ‘Qul ceremony’ of former provincial minister and PML-Q Punjab General Secretary Ch Zaheeruddin Khan's wife in Faisalabad. He was accompanied by Muhammad Basharat Raja, Khurrum Munawar Manj, Mian Munir and other party leaders.

He said Shahbaz Sharif's Orange Line project was a package for the destruction of the poor and historical beauty of the city.

Replying to a question, he said we did politics for serving the people and addessing issues that is why we had protested against price-hike and destruction of the province and provincial capital.

He said playing "holi" with the blood of the employees was not the way for privatisation of the PIA but every problem could be solved through negotiations.

The circumstances in the country have deteriorated further since the rulers came into power, he emphasised. Responding to another question, Ch Pervaiz Elahi said Orange Line project was in fact a dollar making project, which turned the whole city into ruins as properties of the people were destroyed.

He said successful candidates of the Local Government were not aware of securing their powers. “I had earlier said elected representatives would not get powers because present rulers do not believe in devolution of power at lower level and they have held Local Governments' election perforce on the orders of the Supreme Court.”

About a question regarding the grand alliance, he said government itself was doing such things that Opposition parties’ grand alliance be formed soon.

‘Qul ceremony’ was participated by Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan and other parties' leaders besides PML-Q leaders Rana Zahid Riaz, Shaikh Umer Hayat, Zulfiqar Pappan, Nasir Ramzan Gujjar and large numbers of workers.