LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected reports of a rift within the Sharif family, emphasising his unrelenting support for his brother, ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. While speaking to assembly members on Friday night, Shehbaz clarified there was no conflict in the Sharif family. “Those trying to create misunderstandings, note this: I will always stand with Nawaz Sharif,” he said, stressing that he had always been and would always be sincere to his brother. He also warned against spreading of such rumours and negative politics. Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir on Saturday said there were “no two opinions” about Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan. Nawaz will lead the PML-N in 2018 general election, he said. Shehbaz Sharif also left for London to attend a consultative meeting summoned by Nawaz Sharif. The top leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), including Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, has also gathered in London for the meeting. Before leaving for London, Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with lawmakers from Bahawalpur. Federal ministers belonging to Bahawalpur Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Balighur Rehman, Minister of State Arshad Khan Legari and other MNAs like Tanveer Aslam Malik and Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha attended the meeting. Speaking on the occasion, Shehbaz Sharif said that the government of the PML-N had provided funds worth billions of rupees for progress in southern Punjab and every district of southern Punjab had been included on the priority list with regard to development in the province. He said that he gives special attentions to interest of the people of southern Punjab and every possible effort was being made for the progress of the region. He said the Punjab government was launching mega project of clean drinking water from southern Punjab and all tehsils of the region had been included in the project worth Rs 15 billion. He said that top-standard educational institutes like Daanish Schools had also been established in southern Punjab in which children from poor families were getting quality education free of cost. He said the safe city project had also been launched in Bahawalpur, and that the division had been given maximum resources for development and progress. Talking to the lawmakers, the chief minister said that after 400MW solar power plant in Quaid-i-Azam Solar Park, a Turkish firm would now install 300MW solar power project to provide electricity at the rate of six cents per unit, which would be the lowest power tariff in the history of Pakistan. He said that the PML-N government had installed several power projects to eliminate load shedding and by the end of this year power blackouts would be eliminated from Pakistan. He said that billions of rupees of the people had been saved through transparency, quality and speedy completion of projects. He said that a survey for the clean drinking water was being completed and contracts for the projects would be announced in November. He said a network of carpeted roads had been established in villages, which would be the biggest rural road network project in Pakistan. He said that infrastructure had been improved in Punjab with the investment of billions of rupees and mega projects worth billions of rupees had been completed. He said that the Khanewal-Lodhran Road would cost Rs 23 billion and the Punjab government was providing funding for that project, adding that a two-way DG Khan- Muzaffargarh Road would be completed at the cost of Rs 13 billion from the funding of the Punjab government. He said the Punjab government was establishing state-of-the-art hepatitis filter clinic in every district across the province to provide free medical treatment to the patients. The lawmakers belonging to southern Punjab said the chief minister had always given resources for development of the region, which had never seen such development in history. Published in Daily Times, September 24th 2017.