ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Nawaz Sharif appointed on Saturday two retired generals as his party's assistant secretaries general.

Lt-Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch and Lt-Gen (retd) Salahuddin Tirmizi were picked as office-bearers at the party's central management committee meeting held here at the central secretariat.

Gen Baloch served as governor of Balochistan from Feb 1 to Aug 11, 2003, in the regime of former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf. He is currently a member of the National Assembly from Balochistan.

Earlier, he retired prematurely as corps commander of Quetta so that he could be appointed a governor. Gen Tirmizi, a former corps commander, has been given the responsibility of strengthening the party.

Political analysts are of the view that appointment of the two former generals as central office-bearers by Mr Sharif is aimed at projecting the soft image of the PML-N within the military but its arch rivals are terming the move a bid to improve the party's working relations with the military establishment.

Besides the two newly inducted office-bearers the meeting was also attended by senior vice-president Sartaj Aziz, deputy secretary-general Ahsan Iqbal, information secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan and former secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra.

The meeting decided to celebrate the Independence Day on August 14 in a befitting way and instructions were issued to the district office-bearers across the country in this regard.

The meeting formed a media coordination committee in order to effectively communicate the party's activities to the masses.

The party's secretary information would head the coordination committee while secretary information of four provinces would be its members.

The meeting decided to form a special committee comprising parliamentarians to look into complaints being received against Nadra and the census.

The meeting also took serious notice of the continued loadshedding during Ramazan, blaming the government for its failure to give relief to people during the month of fasting.

The meeting called for taking immediate steps to end loadshedding and restoration of train service at the earliest so that people could join their family on Eid festivities.