Daily Times

BAHAWALPUR: Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Tariq Bashir Cheema said on Thursday that rulers always neglected the development of southern Punjab resulting in an increase sense of deprivation among the people. Talking to reporters after condoling with the grieving families of Ahmedpur Sherqia, he said that at the time of tragedy, the Sharif brothers were praising each other in front of the media instead of taking practical steps to avert such a horrible incident in the future. He said that the nation wanted to get rid of corrupt rulers. He recalled that the government of PML during its tenure announced to establish a burn unit at Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur and for this purpose an initial amount of one hundred million rupees had been allocated. But the government of PML-N abandoned the project and diverted the funds allocated for this purpose to Lahore. Cheema announced to raise the issue of the establishment of the burn unit at Bahawalpur in the forthcoming meeting of National Assembly. He expressed grief over the loss of human lives in the Ahmedpur Sherqia incident. He also demanded to raise the compensation financial assistance from Rs 2 million to Rs 5 million.