Daily Times

The government of Punjab and European Union (EU) have agreed to constitute a working group for expanding bilateral cooperation.

This was agreed upon when EU Ambassador to Pakistan Mrs Androulla Kaminara called on Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Tuesday and discussed matters of mutual interest.

The chief minister appreciated the cooperation extended by the European Union for social sector reforms and expressed the satisfaction that economic cooperation and best friendly relations exist between Pakistan and EU countries. The EU is a major trade partner and the government wants to further strengthen bilateral relations to benefit the people, he added.

While discussing the steps relating to the GPS plus status, the chief minister pointed out that a number of important initiatives have been taken. The government is fully committed to overcoming the menace of child labour and every citizen enjoys equal rights in the country, he emphasised.

The government has focused to develop backward areas as there is a lot of scope of value addition in agriculture and livestock sectors, he said and announced to welcome the provision of technology in both the sectors by the EU countries.

The chief minister pointed out that important steps have been taken to defeat the philosophy of fanaticism at every level. He said that Pakistan is moving towards the direction envisioned by the founding fathers as a society based on the golden principles of tolerance, brotherhood and harmony.

The EU ambassador expressed the satisfaction that positive headway has been made by Pakistan with regard to GPS plus status and assured cooperation in water waste management and other sectors.

Meanwhile, MNAs Sanaullah Mastikhel and Zahoor Hussain Qureshi, Punjab Livestock Minister Husnain Bahadur Dreshak, Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari, provincial assembly members Tahir Randhawa, Sardar Raza Dreshak and other parliamentarians called on Usman Buzdar at his office to discuss upcoming Senate election and their constituency related problems.

The chief minister assured to resolve the problems being faced by the parliamentarians and divulged that a strategy has been devised to resolve constituency related problems in consultation with the parliamentarians. The people have no interest in politics of chaos as they need development and solution of their problems, he added and maintained that PDM has become a thing of the past along with its politics of resignations and threats of ‘do or die.’

The opposition will be surprised in the Senate election as its duality has been fully exposed, the chief minister continued. The chief minister vowed that opponents of open ballet will face defeat in the Senate election as these elements have remained engrossed in ‘opposition for the sake of opposition.’

The chief minister emphasised that two and a half years of the incumbent government are witness to the policy of transparency, honesty and trustworthiness. People are siding with the PTI as it is working for national development and resources are diverted to fulfil the needs of the common man, he said. The PTI-led government has also introduced fundamental reforms to bring necessary changes as human resource development is a priority agenda, concluded the chief minister.