LAHORE: To expedite the work on the projects of Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority (PAPA), Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar on Thursday constituted a committee that will be headed by Punjab Law and Cooperatives Minister Raja Basharat. As per the details released by the Law ministry, among the members of the committee include the PAPA chairman and its CEO, the provincial secretaries of finance, housing and planning and development departments, and Punjab Saaf Pani Company CEO.

The committee will deal with issues related to the transfer of assets, vehicles, feasibility and study. It will remove obstacles being faced by the ongoing projects, assist in speedy resolution of issues, such as PC-1 approval, funding and legislation.

Commenting on the committee, the minister said that the first meeting will be convened soon and added that all-out efforts will be made to provide clean drinking water to every citizen of Punjab. Meanwhile, Political Counsellor in British High Commission Islamabad Iona Thomas called on the minister and discussed bilateral issues.

On the occasion, Thomas praised Pakistan's efforts to address concerns of Financial Action task Force (FATF) and added that the UK had pledged its full support to Pakistan in this regard. She paid homage to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and said that he always emphasized the rights of minorities.

Referring to Hunza Valley, she said that Pakistan was rich in natural beauty and resources. She also assured that the UK would continue to cooperate with Punjab against coronavirus, illiteracy, terrorism and poverty alleviation. Basharat said that the Punjab government was taking steps for the protection and development of minorities, as significant increases had been made in the recent budget for churches and other worship places in Punjab.

"The Punjab government was ensuring implementation of all the points of FATF and had successfully handled high profile cases of terrorism by implementing the federal policies against extremism and sectarianism to the maximum," he added.

The minister further said that the Punjab Assembly had enacted record legislation while centuries-old laws were being updated as per the existing requirements.

"The orders of the Supreme Court regarding local government would be followed. Successful measures had been taken against the coronavirus pandemic in Punjab and the process of vaccination was successfully being carried out," he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021