MULTAN: President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday that some non-political forces were trying to divert people’s attention from real issues facing the country but the government was determined to solve all problems.

Speaking at a ceremony after the inauguration of recently completed Rasheedabad flyover and the ground-breaking of a bridge over the river Ravi at Syedwala, the president said the people could not be hoodwinked by such elements.

He said southern Punjab has been deprived of its share in development funds in the past but the PPP government had allocated record funds for its development.

The president said the government had decided to increase funds for southern Punjab to take it out of backwardness. He claimed that 95 per cent of developmental projects launched by the federal government in Multan had been completed.

He said the 500-metre flyover was completed in 10 months at a cost of Rs1.47 billion, adding that this eighth flyover in the city would help improve the traffic flow between Multan and Lahore.

Mr Zardari said most funds allocated for the region by the federal government had been spent on development projects.

The president said the three-kilometre Syedwala bridge would be built at a cost of Rs1 billion and within one and a half years.