KARACHI, May 8 Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Saturday said that the decision to divide Hyderabad district was a great disservice to the people of the region and vowed that it would be restored to its original shape.

However, an APP report quoted the PM as saying that the allies of the government would be carried along and any such decision would be taken in consultation with them and Hyderabad would again be made one district.

He was speaking to the legislators and office bearers of the Pakistan People's Party, Hyderabad division, here at the Chief Minister's House.

The prime minister reaffirmed the PPP-led coalition government's belief in trichotomy of powers because everything would be lost if there was any clash between institutions.

In a wide-ranging address, he touched upon issues pertaining to law and order, loadshedding and good governance.

The main thrust of Mr Gilani's speech was to make the party strong and mobilise its cadre, as he observed that the government would be strong only when the party was strong.

In the context of poverty alleviation, he suggested that poor people should be provided free electricity up to certain units.

He emphasised that good governance and capacity building was essential for achieving all the objectives of the party for which he said its leaders and workers had rendered great sacrifices.

He said that the impact of the decisions taken by the cabinet and the party's central executive committee should be visible.

He claimed that the PPP-led government had implemented at least 70 per cent of the manifesto of Benazir Bhutto in two years' time.

He said that the 18th Amendment, the National Finance Commission Award, a new labour policy, women empowerment and poverty alleviation measures and holding elections in Gilgit-Baltistan were some of the big achievements of the PPP government.

He said that he would appoint a woman ombudsman to protect the rights of women.

Regarding the law and order situation, he said that terrorism was the main challenge and if it was tackled then it would have a very positive impact on the industry, investment and the overall economy.

Mr Gilani also referred to the recent nuclear summit in the United States and said that his presence there brought legitimacy to Pakistan's nuclear programme.

The convention was also addressed by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

Office bearers of the PPP also expressed their views on development projects and their funding and opportunities of livelihood.

The president of the PPP Hyderabad, Zahid Bhurgari, strongly criticised former Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim and said that he dismembered Hyderabad and Larkana districts to break the power of the PPP.

Meanwhile, the prime minister reviewed the law and order situation in the province and the problem of loadshedding during a meeting with the Sindh chief minister.

He was concerned over the extended duration of power outages, especially in the city, and directed the quarters concerned to take appropriate measures.