Tag: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar

  • Widening rift? Pervaiz Elahi says coalition experience with Zardari was good

    Widening rift? Pervaiz Elahi says coalition experience with Zardari was good

    At a time when cracks continue to appear between the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has said his party’s experience in government with that of former president Asif Ali Zardari, was good.

    “The prime minister (PM) doubts his allies. He doesn’t verify what he’s told. We negotiated with Maulana Fazlur Rehman and got his sit-in in Islamabad wrapped up, but instead of appreciation, we were doubted,” he was quoted as saying.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Elahi also reportedly said that his party’s experience of forming a coalition government with Zardari of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was a pleasant one.

    “Advised [Punjab Chief Minister] Usman Buzdar to not reshuffle officers in the province, and also suggested him to not block the supply of wheat from Sindh, but my suggestions were not considered by the Buzdar administration,” the Punjab Assembly speaker added.

    He also said that the provincial chief executive of Punjab could somewhat be held responsible for the poor administrative affairs.

  • Report claims Punjab’s affairs handed over to PML-Q, govt refutes

    Report claims Punjab’s affairs handed over to PML-Q, govt refutes

    Even though Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar is continuing as the provincial chief executive, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has practically taken over the slot — with its leaders holding crucial meetings and reportedly preparing a roadmap for power-sharing and distribution of development funds, a private media outlet has claimed.

    According to reports, PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi has held a crucial meeting with Punjab Chief Secretary (CS) Azam Suleman Khan and prepared a roadmap for power-sharing and distribution of development funds in the province. Moonis had also hinted at it while speaking to a private media outlet earlier this week.

    The power-sharing decision has seriously disturbed CM Buzdar, who has complained about it to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Jahangir Tareen, the report said. It added that development funds worth Rs20 billion would be released for PML-Q parliamentarians’ constituencies, and the party would also be authorised to give instructions to the bureaucracy directly.

    Tareen has reportedly accepted all PML-Q demands about power-sharing that they had made in a meeting held earlier this month, and directed the Punjab CS to prepare a roadmap in this regard, with the help of Moonis. “I even could not sleep the whole night because of this worrying situation,” the report quoted a disturbed Buzdar as telling Tareen, who is a close aide of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    On the other hand, the report added, PML-Q office bearers say “it was just the beginning”. “We don’t want to remove [Usman] Buzdar, but we can’t sacrifice the entire party and voters for this friendship. So we will try our level best to maintain each other’s integrity.”

    ‘FAKE NEWS’:

    Reacting to the report, the Punjab government has dubbed it as “baseless and factually incorrect”.

    As per the details, Punjab government spokesperson Musarrat Cheema, through a series of tweets, said that the government is “considering legal action against reporter and news outlet for such malicious reporting”.

    https://twitter.com/MusarratCheema/status/1219869773040955392

    “PTI and PML-Q have a good working relationship in Punjab and we are determined to work for the prosperity of our province under CM [Buzdar],” she tweeted.

  • Buzdar granted permanent Gymkhana membership worth Rs1.4 million

    Buzdar granted permanent Gymkhana membership worth Rs1.4 million

    Despite the club committee opposing it, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar has been granted permanent membership of the elite Lahore Gymkhana Club after a payment of Rs1.4 million, a private media outlet has reported.

    According to reports, the provincial chief executive was made a member while overlooking at least 3,000 people, the lease policy and terms, over which members of the club have sought details of the move — such as who paid Rs1.4 million for Buzdar’s membership.

    They have also said that at least 60 people were granted membership without following the due procedure, among whom is Buzdar, who was made a member of the social club without an interview.

    The report claimed that committee members had opposed granting membership to CM Buzdar, however, Chairman Kamran Lashari “misused his authority and overruled reservations so as to remain the director general (DG) of Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA)”.

    Lashari has been serving as the WCLA DG since 2016.

    While members of Lashari group have rejected the claims but supported the demand of an investigation into the episode, Lashari himself has said that Buzdar has been granted membership owing to the positive steps he has taken as the Punjab CM.

  • Punjab info minister says ‘Buzdar should be praised like Sher Shah Suri’

    Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan has said that Chief Minister (CM) Usman works silently without setting up any camp offices and consequently reducing the provincial government’s expenses by 60 per cent, therefore, “he should be praised like Sher Shah Suri”.

    Suri was the founder of the Suri Empire in the northern Indian subcontinent, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar.

    Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Information Minister Chohan asserted that the former government caused a loss of $21 billion to the national exchequer and more than 2,000 officials were appointed for the security of then CM Shehbaz Sharif’s relatives.

    “He [Shehbaz] had established eight camp offices but neither of them were in Lahore,” the minister said and added that Buzdar could not be compared to opposition leaders as the former had not laundered money.

    The provincial minister said that people like Tallal Chaudhry, Daniyal Aziz and Javed Latif had earlier “taken over the system”, while Buzdar’s government has recovered loans worth over Rs10 billion in one year, allocated 35 per cent budget for southern parts of Punjab and built shelter homes for the poor.

    “The CM has allocated a huge portion of funds for the development of South Punjab in the provincial budget for the first time in the history of the province.”

    Chohan said that policies pertaining to district industry and special education were approved during Buzdar’s tenure and construction of nine universities and nine hospitals had now been started.

    “Previously, every person raised slogans against neglecting South Punjab. Now, six out of nine hospitals in the province are being constructed there. CM Buzdar can be titled as Waseem Akram-Plus, if we thoroughly review his performance within over a year.”

    He said Punjab had collected 104 per cent tax revenue that increased the province’s income up to Rs75 billion and in the first year, policies for tourism, agriculture, labour, industries, water and forests had been approved in Punjab.

    The provincial minister continued that 36 bills were approved by the Punjab government for the first time in the history of the province.

    “So-called political leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had only grabbed government lands during their tenures,” the provincial government’s mouthpiece maintained.