President General Pervez Musharraf has said on Thursday that he would not let anyone to give ethnic colour to May 12 incident, adding that Karachi would remain a city of peace, tranquillity and brotherhood, and the attempts to give an ethnic colour to the recent killings would certainly fail.
Addressing a mammoth public meeting at DG Khan's Sports Stadium, the President regretted that a judicial issue was politicised and later attempts were made to give ethnic colour to May 12 incident in Karachi. He said the lawyers' community was being instigated by elements who wanted to spread disruption and subvert the ongoing development in the country.
Punjab Governor Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool (retd), Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, former president Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari, Federal Minister Awais, Ahmed Khan Leghari, District Nazim Sardar Maqsood Ahmed Leghari, parliamentarians and PML leaders were also present on the occasion.
Expressing his profound sorrow over the loss of lives in Karachi on May 12, President Musharraf said those who wanted to turn Karachi into a city of bloodshed would not succeed in their nefarious designs. He also said terrorism and extremism are a hurdle to progress and prosperity.
The President said some of our youth were being misguided and brainwashed to become suicide bombers against the teachings of Islam. He said if this trend of extremism was not checked the ongoing progress and industrialisation would come to a halt and the country would revert to backwardness.
The President urged people to help check the dangerous trend, saying this year is the election year and the nation should vote those to power who want progress and prosperity. He eulogised the role of former president Sardar Farooq Leghari and his community for the development of this region.
The President said when he took power the economy was in shambles and it was being run on borrowing. Now Pakistan has been turned from a borrower into a donor country which is a matter of pride for the whole nation.
Musharraf said the country's development budget has been increased from Rs 80 billion to Rs 500 billion. The exchequer is full and funds are being utilised for development and not being pocketed as happened in the past.
President Musharraf announced to establish a university and a medical college in the area as well as a cadet college at Fort Munro and a grant of Rs 500 million for the development of DG Khan and Rajanpur districts.
He said he has asked the prime minister to provide substantial relief to the poor segments of the society in the next budget which is just 15 to 20 days away. The government has initiated a number of schemes for the welfare of the masses, and utility stores are being established even at the union council level besides introducing mobile utility stores, in order to provide foodstuff and other commodities to the people at reduced rates, he added.
The President said under the National Internship Programme, 20,000 educated youths have been given jobs and some 30,000 more boys and girls with MA, MSc degrees will get jobs with monthly emolument of Rs 10,000 in the near future.
He said under the Rozgar (self-employment) scheme men and women are being offered loans on soft-terms from Rs 15,000 to Rs 100,000 to set up small businesses to earn their livelihood honourably. An amount of Rs 10 to Rs 15 billion is being spent on this count, he added.
He said the government is spending a sum of Rs 7 billion on the provision of water filtration plants not only to villages but also to hamlets of 100 houses each. President Musharraf said in order to make efficient use of irrigation water 86,000 water-courses are being brick-lined at a cost of Rs 66 billion, adding this national programme will be completed within two years.
He commended Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for implementing his agenda to develop backward areas and hitherto neglected areas like Southern Punjab. The President announced to provide required funds to build protective bunds against land erosion by River Indus and against torrential rains which play havoc in this area every year.
He said in the past 1,000 villages were electrified every year, but now 15,000 villages are being energised. He said every tehsil will get Sui gas and each village electricity. Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said at the instructions of President Musharraf he has allocated funds to the tune of Rs 60 billion to execute massive development projects in South Punjab.
Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari lauded the policies of President Musharraf and said that he took difficult decisions for the good of the nation and now those decisions stood vindicated.
He said there is no unrest in Balochistan and President Musharraf is undertaking mega projects in that province as in other regions across the country. He said PML would win the next elections on the basis of its performance. District Nazim Sardar Maqsood Khan Leghari said the people fully support President Musharraf and his prudent policies and said that DG Khan would prove to be a fortress of PML in the next general elections.