LAHORE – Senator Pervaiz Rasheed on Sunday said that Pervaiz Elahi had a record of incomplete projects and he deserves a medal for it. He said that incomplete projects like the Ring Road, Pervaiz Elahi left Quran Academy unfinished. “The lie of Pervaiz Elahi has reached Egypt from Pakistan as he mentioned in the advertisement that the Quran Academy has been affiliated with Jamiatul Azhar,” he said.
Pervaiz Rasheed expressed these views while addressing a press conference flanked with provincial minister for Auqaf Haji Ehsanud Din Qureshi and Chairman Quran Board Ghulam Muhammad Sialvi at CM Secretariat.
Pervaiz Rasheed said that Pervaiz Elahi had been raising slogan of electing Musharraf ten times in uniform and now he was publishing false advertisements in newspapers for electing Zardari. He said, “Deputy Prime Minister Pervaiz Elahi fixed plaque of his name on various projects during his era but left them incomplete. “There are a number of such projects for which payments were made to the contractors but they fled abroad. The money which Pervaiz Elahi got through corruption and giving advertisements will be recovered from him”, he added.
He said that he himself had admitted that he had saved the PPP government by making alliance with Asif Zardari. The Deputy PM should also give advertisements against lawlessness, unemployment, target killing and 20 hours long power outages.”
Rashid further said that contrary to it, the Punjab CM completed the incomplete projects left by Pervaiz Elahi within the shortest period which included Lahore-Kasur Road, Lahore Ring Road and Thokhar Niaz Beg overhead bridge. Senator Rashid said that the picture of Quran Board and Seerat Acadmy which was being shown by Pervaiz Elahi in the advertisement had been morphed by computer.
Provincial Minister for Auqaf Haji Ehsan-ud-Din Qureshi informed that purpose of press conference was to present the real contents of the advertisement published in the newspapers about the projects of Quran Complex and Seerat Academy. He said that reply to these advertisements could be given through advertisements but as this matter relates to the Holy Quran, therefore, incumbent Punjab government does not consider it proper to use it for personal or political interests and also condemns using the projects started for the Holy Quran or any other religious purpose for personal or political interests. He said that this wrong statement was a nefarious effort to incite the religious sentiments, therefore, it was considered necessary that the facts should be conveyed to the masses through media. He said that according to the facts, Quran Complex and Seerat Academy project was approved in 2006 at an estimated cost of Rs394.7 million for which Ch. Pervaiz Elahi during his tenure released only Rs93.0 million. He further said the present Punjab government revised this project to make it more useful and a revised estimate of Rs502 million was approved. He said that on the direction of Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, present Punjab government had released Rs332 million for this project so far. He said that if the funds released were compared, the present government released 250 percent more funds than the previous government.
Chairman Quran Board Ghulam Muhammad Sialvi said that Pervaiz Elahi got approved Women Protection Act which was against the teachings of Quran and Sunnah during his tenure and made corruption of 55 years in five years and left the projects incomplete whereas Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif completed all incomplete projects within record period. He said that present government approved the Punjab Quran Printing and Recording Act in 2011 under which publication of Holy Quran on substandard and poor quality paper had been prohibited and permission of publication on at least 52 gram offset paper had been given. In addition, four big wells have also been constructed for conservation of the worn out copies of the Holy Quran.