PESHAWAR, April 20: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz reiterated on Thursday that 2007 would be election year and urged Pakistan Muslim League workers to prepare themselves for the challenge and strengthen the party at the grass root level.
Addressing a PML Workers’ Convention at the Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium, the prime minister urged party workers to work hard and strengthen the party ahead of the elections.
He said that the assemblies would complete their term and the PML and its allies would be able to win the next elections in the country.
The convention was also addressed by PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and its provincial president and Minister of State for Water and Power Amir Muqam.
President Pervez Musharraf, who was expected to attend the convention, did not turn up, causing dismay among party workers who began leaving the ground soon after the arrival of the prime minister.
It was an anti-climax. The meeting got off to a very late start and the organisers had to ask the speakers to rush through to help finish the proceedings before dusk. The whole show was thus wrapped up in about half an hour.
The organisers of the show had worked hard to bring party workers from all over the NWFP to what was probably the first PML workers’ convention here in many years, but 14,000 chairs laid astride the stadium made the show, billed to attract over 100,000 people, a big disappointment.
He said that the government was striving to bring prosperity and development in the country and urged the people to work hard to achieve the goal.
He said that a strong Pakistan would strengthen Muslim Ummat and claimed that the country was the first to raise voice against blasphemous cartoons [of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in some European newspapers.]
The prime minister announced Rs150 million for electrification in Peshawar in addition to Rs200 million for gas supply to parts of the provincial capital.
He said that the federal government was working to provide potable water, build roads and construct dams to meet water shortage.
He added that the Gomal Zam dam was being built to irrigate land and bring prosperity to the people.
Mr Aziz said that earthquake-affected people would be provided houses and new schools and hospitals would be built in their areas. With (projects worth) billions of rupees, he said, living condition of the people would be improved.
Mr Aziz said that the PML, which had completed 100 years of its existence, had struggled for and founded Pakistan.
He paid tribute to the people of the NWFP who, he said, had supported the creation of Pakistan and opted to join it through a referendum.
Chaudhry Shujaat in his speech predicted that his party would emerge the strongest in the next elections.
In an obvious reference to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, he said that some people tried to champion the cause of Islam, adding: “We are all Muslims and let no one claim to be thekedar of Islam.”
He urged the people to strengthen the hands of the government to extricate the country from terrorism and chaos.
