Punjab governor calls President Zardari key to current system

TAXILA: Punjab Governor Sardar Salim Haider Khan has said President Asif Ali Zardari remains central to the existing hybrid system, warning that removing him from the equation would cause the arrangement to collapse.

Speaking to local journalists in Pindigheb town of Attock, the governor also paid tribute to the figures behind Pakistan’s nuclear programme, describing the capability as a guarantee of the country’s security and a shield for the Muslim world. He said the vision of a nuclear Pakistan associated with Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had evolved into a safeguard for Pakistan’s survival, security and defence, while also serving as a source of strength for the wider Muslim Ummah.

Later, while addressing participants at an Eid Milan party in Fatehjang town of Attock, Sardar Salim Haider said politicians were the most oppressed segment of society because they remained under constant public and institutional scrutiny. He said shortcomings were often blamed solely on politicians despite what he described as the shared responsibility of all sectors.

The governor said the Pakistan Peoples Party frequently faced negative propaganda. Referring to his own position, he said he held Punjab’s top constitutional office on behalf of the PPP and had presented his two-year performance before the media.

“I hold the highest constitutional office in Punjab on behalf of the PPP; I am accountable at all times and have placed my two-year performance before the media. No one has been able to level a single allegation against me,” he said.

University and welfare projects

Sardar Salim Haider thanked Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and the provincial education minister for approving the establishment of the University of Attock, calling it a major initiative for the area. He said the project would benefit students and support the development of higher education in the region.

According to the governor, an initial allocation of Rs1.5 billion for the university project would be released in the next fiscal year.

Highlighting welfare work, he said public service efforts carried out with the support of friends and philanthropists had led to projects worth millions of rupees. He said a mass wedding ceremony for 120 deserving couples had recently been organised, and Punjab’s largest floodlit sports tournament had also been held at Fatehjang Sports Stadium.

He added that free medical centres had been set up in different villages of NA-50, free dialysis centres were functioning across all tehsils of Attock district, and multiple filtration plants had been installed to provide clean drinking water. He said hundreds of additional welfare projects had also been completed for local communities.