Seraiki Province will be part of PPP's next manifesto- Prime MInister

MULTAN: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Sunday that the government will safeguard the rights of all the country’s institutions and will never allow anyone to meddle in its own affairs.The government had never interfered in the jurisdiction of other institutions and likewise would never like anyone to step-in in its business, the prime minister said and added that the rights of parliament would also be defended by his government.These remarks were made by the prime minister while addressing a public gathering at Jalalpur Pirwala Stadium in Multan, where he spent a busy day inaugurating two grid stations, a fly-over and performing ground-breaking of a cancer treatment facility.Gilani promised that he would make Saraiki province a part of the Pakistan People’s Party’s next election manifesto. The premier reiterated his government’s resolve to safeguard the rights of growers to bring about a boom in the agriculture sector. He announced that the support price of agriculture produce would be raised to ensure due return of agri-production to growers. He also claimed the government’s grower-friendly policy had ensured good returns to growers in accordance with the international market. Replying to media queries after opening the grid stations, Gilani said the PPP had always based its politics on reconciliation and would continue to do so despite new developments in Punjab. About a protest staged by PPP parliamentarians in the Punjab Assembly on Friday, Gilani said the matter was directly related to the provincial leadership. He, however, claimed that the PPP had been feeling comfortable as opposition in Punjab. When asked about relations with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister maintained that “they were never strained”.“The PPP has not come to power through backdoor politics. Those talking about a change should not seek the incumbent government’s five-year performance after the lapse of just three years,” he asserted. Speaking about the earthquake in Japan, the prime minister said that Pakistan had offered field hospitals, medical teams and other assistance to the quake-hit country. Responding to a question on the Raymond Davis issue, Gilani asserted that the media had built up hype over the issue. “The government will not take any step which undermines the country’s dignity and honour,” he affirmed.When asked about law and order in Karachi, the premier first said it was a provincial matter and then added that law enforcement agencies had been ordered to step up efforts in this regard.Gilani refused to comment on the issue of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) chief, saying the matter was sub judice.Earlier, the prime minister inaugurated the grid stations and the flyover. The two grids, worth Rs 1.48 billion, would supply electricity to 71 villages of Jalalpur Pirwala while the flyover at Pul Mauj Darya had been made operational at a cost of Rs 411 million.