LAHORE, Dec 18: Federal Caretaker Inter-provincial Coordination Minister Dr Muhammad Amjad has said Sindh and NWFP governments have sent their suggestions on the proposed autonomy

bill, while response from Punjab and Balochistan is awaited.

He was talking to reporters after the inaugural ceremony of the second phase of the 125-year celebrations of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) on Tuesday.

Saying that Punjab and Balochistan governments had committed to give their comments on the draft bill within a week, Dr Amjad said the proposed law and all four provinces’ suggestions and comments would be discussed by the Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee (IPCC) meeting and then forward it to the law department for whetting.

The whetted bill would be presented to the federal cabinet for approval and then sent to the next elected National Assembly.

He said the bill was actually prepared by the former elected government, led by the then premier Shaukat Aziz.

The federal minister said the caretaker government had moved to call a meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) and discuss corporatisation of railways, building of new water reservoirs, horizontal distribution of revenues, transfer of royalty and incentives from institutions to provinces, law to check inter-provincial cross-border crime like smuggling of drugs and stolen vehicles.

Dr Amjad said the federal government was also planning to hold a national solidarity conference by the midst of next month to promote harmony and build confidence among provinces.

He said the government was also developing a database of criminals, which would be used under the National Police Bureau. He said all the four provinces had been asked to give their suggestions in this regard.

Earlier speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Dr Amjad said the government had constituted a livestock board as President Pervez Musharraf wanted to bring about a `white revolution’ in the country.

He said the government was creating awareness about the need for new water reservoirs.

He said the government was also funding provinces and organising seminars and conferences for gender reforms.

The federal minister, an alumnus of the UVAS, said the government was laying emphasis on the promotion of agriculture and livestock. Saying that livestock was a leading sector which was making more than 50 per cent of the total agricultural contribution in GDP, Dr Amjad stressed that the UVAS should continue its efforts for bringing about white revolution by enhancing milk production in the country.

Earlier, UVAS vice-chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz said the livestock had a great impact on the economy despite the fact that it was getting budgetary allocation of one against five given to the agriculture sector. He said the livestock sector was earning some $12 billion from exports.

He said the UVAS, established in 2002, aimed at education for entrepreneurship while synthesising synergy among academics, research and production skills.

Prof Nawaz said the university was running undergraduate, postgraduate, diploma and certificate courses.

He said the university had the enrollment of 2,135 students, which would be enhanced up to 5,000 during the next five years. He said the UVAS was continuously developing its faculty and had 121 faculty members, including 40 PhD teachers and four eminent educationists from the Higher Education Commission.

He said the UVAS had developed linkages with foreign teaching institutions and was collaborating with them on academic and research matters. He said the university had also established a quality enhancement cell.

The VC said the university had also established its new campus at Pattoki.

The federal minister presented shields to senior academics, professionals and industrialists.

UVAS deans, directors, faculty members and varsity alumni serving as leading entrepreneurs in different sectors were present on the occasion.