TAXILA: Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider on Wednesday said the government and journalist action committee would consult each other to develop a consensus on the Punjab Defamation Bill which was passed by the provincial assembly about a month ago.

He was talking to newsmen at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Attock on Wednesday.

The governor said on his request, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and provincial assembly speaker agreed to address the concerns of all stakeholders about the defamation bill.

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He was of the view that the journalist community was not against implementation of the bill but had reservations on some points. He hoped that the concerns of all stakeholders would be addressed amicably.

Says sub-campuses of UET Taxila, Punjab varsity to be set up in Attock district

Governor Haider further said Attock district would soon get sub-campuses of the Punjab University and University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Taxila which would prove to be a foundation stone for higher education in the district.

He said the Punjab University sub-campus would be set up in Fatehjang while that of the University of Engineering and Technology Taxila in Jand, adding that the stalled project of Arid University Attock campus, which has remained on the back burner for the last many years, would be re-activated again.

He said in this connection, directives were issued to the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) and other relevant authorities to finalise feasibility reports without any delay.

Sardar Saleem also revealed that a state-of-the-art dialysis centre would be established in Fatehjang so that patients get relief from the Punjab government while their time and expenditure to reach the district headquarters was also reduced accordingly.

Earlier, the Punjab governor presided over a meeting at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office.

The meeting was organised by the district administration to brief the governor about various public welfare-oriented programmes, women empowerment, development schemes and initiatives in the health and education sectors.

The governor appreciated Deputy Commissioner Attock Rao Atif Raza for establishing IT centres in over 240 schools across the district, a peasant centre for women and the first divisional public school in over 100 years history of the district.

Later Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider visited Thalassemia Centre at the District Headquarters Hospital, Divisional Public School and under-construction Mother and Child Hospital.

During his visit to the Thalassemia Centre, he interacted with children and distributed gift hampers among them.

“You are not alone; the government as well as the administration are with you to provide health facilities to you for your treatment,” he said. He lauded the district health authorities for establishing a 20-bed state-of-the-art Thalassemia Centre in the city on self-help basis.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2024