Lilla (Jhelum), March 11: President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday affirmed that retrogressive elements would not be allowed to hold back progress in Balochistan or suppress their own people.

He was addressing a large public gathering after inaugurating a compressed natural gas pilot project for Lilla town in Jhelum district.

The president said that the government had embarked upon several mega projects that would benefit the province’s people, adding that they had been neglected far too long.

He said that a few tribal chieftains had held their own people hostage and suppressed them through their private militias, adding that they had also blackmailed successive governments. He alleged that these retrogressive Sardars wanted to keep their own people backward and said they wanted to deny them of modern facilities.

They had also been obstructing the government’s efforts to explore minerals and build roads, which would improve the province’s links with other parts of the country besides helping in its fast-track development.

He said no country could allow such a situation to linger on, adding that the people would be freed from the shackles of anti progress and anti-development sardars.

He reiterated that five major dams would be constructed by 2016 to meet the country’s growing energy requirements, the president said that he had committed with the nation to build new reservoirs for sustainable economic growth and socio-economic uplift of the people.

He said alternative energy sources, including coal and wind, would also be developed to meet the ever-rising energy requirements. He said that the country’s industrial sector had attracted substantial foreign investment, especially for energy projects. He said new energy projects, including those using water, wind and coal for power generation, would help power the booming industry.

A comprehensive strategy was being pursued for bolstering the country’s agricultural sector through water conservation at a cost of Rs66 billion, besides efficient water management was being encouraged.

He said that robust national industrial sector would not face a shortage of energy and higher growth rate would be maintained.

President Musharraf highlighted the country’s progressing in all spheres and said that benefits of economic achievements were now being transferred to the people at the grassroots level. He said the booming economy and robust agro-industrial sectors would help create more jobs and lower the incidence of poverty.

The president said that the government would ensure provision of basic amenities, including electricity, gas and clean drinking water, across the country by the end of 2007.

He said that projects would be undertaken to accelerate provision of natural gas in remote areas. The president said that new gas reservoirs had been discovered at Gurguri in the NWFP. He said that southern parts of the province and areas around Peshawar would be provided natural gas through pipelines from these newly-discovered natural gas wells.

He said natural gas would also be made available in southern Punjab where it was currently not available.

He said that several projects for provision of natural gas would be completed within the next two and a half years.

The president also announced electrification of villages and provision of natural gas to Jhelum district.

In response to the people’s demands, the president assured them that the Jalalpur Canal project would be considered and the Punjab government would conduct a feasibility study. When the people called for setting up an industrial zone in the area, the president said initially, a technical school would be set up, and creation of an industrial zone would be considered later.

Earlier, Minister for Petroleum and Natural resources Amanullah Khan Jadoon said that the pilot CNG project for the town had been completed ahead of schedule.

The minister said that gas would be transported in tankers to a distribution station near the town for onward supply to 50,000 people town through pipelines.

Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, Minister for Population Welfare Chaudhary Shahbaz, the governor and the chief minister of Punjab also attended the publiuc meeting.