Gas fields, plants: government committed to provide security, says Prime Minister

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that the government is fully committed to provide security to strategic assets like gas fields and plants for which foreign investors would be provided full security at any cost. Talking to media persons here on Wednesday at PM Secretariat to mark inauguration of a central processing facility set up at Manzalai in NWFP, he said that top priority has been given to investment in the oil and gas sector.
The government has taken terrorism as a challenge and is taking stringent measures to tackle it to ensure safety of the people. He said the whole nation is united on the issue and supporting the government and armed forces in the war against terrorism. He said the army has taken over strongholds of the militants in South Waziristan. The Prime Minister said that the government has decided to constitute a ''Shuhada Fund'' for the martyrs of Police and civilians to compensate their families.
He said that the global recession also affected the economy but the government by diversifying its attention towards agriculture sector was successful to avert the negative impacts of this recession. He said a number of incentives were given to the farmers that led to bumper crops of wheat and rice that also brought a change in the life of the growers.
He said the government is taking measures to protect vulnerable segments of the society particularly in the rural areas and has decided to facilitate them through Benazir Income Support Programme. He said htat the government never intended to table NRO before the National Assembly but it moved it due to the verdict of the Supreme Court.
He said that respecting the sense of the House the government decided not to take up the issue before the Parliament, and added that it will honour verdict of the Supreme Court in this regard. The Prime Minister said that all concerned departments have been directed to compile the lists of the beneficiaries of the NRO that will be presented before the Parliament.
The Prime Minister said that it was indeed a great pleasure for him that his government has taken another very important step towards energy self-sufficiency by inaugurating the Manzalai Central Processing Facility. He congratulated the MOL Group, OGDC, PPL, GHPL and POL Tal Joint Venture partners on this occasion for their success.
He said that with the start of supply from this facility, the national transmission system of natural gas will get a big boost. It is also a matter of satisfaction that this injection in the national system is coming from a field that is located in the NWFP.