ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed serious concern over the death of infants in Tharparkar due to malnutrition and overall poor health conditions in the area and directed Federal Health Minister to visit these areas and ensure provision of relief to the people living in distress.

In a meeting held with PTI Sindh Chapter President Amir Bhutto and Secretary General Haleem Adil Sheikh in his Parliament House chamber on Tuesday, the prime minister said that implementation of the party’s manifesto should be a top priority.

In the meeting, which was also attended by central secretary general of the party Arshad Dad and his special assistants Naseemul Haq and Iftikhar Durrani, the issues relating to the party’s reorganisation in Sindh came under discussion.

Reposing full confidence in the leadership of new Sindh chapter chief and secretary general, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the government would not leave any stone unturned to provide relief to the people of Pakistan.

He directed the Sindh chapter of the party to start work for reorganisation of the party at grass-root level with special focus on rural areas of the province so that before the next local bodies elections the party’s structure at union council-level should be in place.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad also called on the prime minister and briefed him on the working of his ministry and his roadmap to transform Pakistan Railways into a profitable organisation.

Sh. Rashid also informed the premier about the new trains his ministry was intending to start in a next couple of months to provide relief to the people as still Railways is the cheapest mode of travelling in the country.

He also discussed the utilisation of the vast Railways land for sprucing up the Pakistan Railways and also updated Imran Khan on his plan to retrieve the encroached Pakistan Railways land from land grabbers.

Rashid commended the federal and Punjab governments’ drive against the land grabbers across the country and said that with the same spirit his ministry would get the encroached Railways land back and utilise it for reforming the loss-ridden Pakistan Railways.

He also discussed the overall political situation with Prime Minister especially the upcoming by-polls in various parts of the country.

MORE FUNDS FOR FATA IN NFC

Prime Minister Imran Khan assured the FATA parliamentarians that his government in aid with all the provincial governments would try to secure maximum funds for these areas in the upcoming National Finance Commission Award so that these areas could be brought at par with the developed parts of the country in shortest possible time.

In a meeting with Parliamentarians from FATA here on Tuesday Prime Minister once again reiterated early merger of these areas in Khyber—Pakhtunkhwa and also assured them provincial of ample funds for infrastructure development and resolution of the problems facing the people of these areas.

The meeting which was also attended by Governor Khyber- Pakhtunkwa Shah Farman and Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadari and Advisor to Prime Minister Shahzad Arbab Prime Minister said that he was committed to bring marked change in the lives of FATA people who had faced the brunt of war against terror and stayed committed to the cause of nation.

He said that besides infrastructure development in these areas which had badly suffered during the operation against militants in these areas over the past one decade the priority of his government would be on provision of better health and education facilities to the people of these areas.

He said that provision of jobs to the people of FATA would be another target of his government.

Imran Khan had taken strong notice of the mistreatment of government functionaries with the people and directed the bureaucracy to put its house in order as any maltreatment to the people of FATA would not be tolerated.

He further made it clear that the mineral resources in these areas belonged to the people of these areas and no one can snatch their resources from them.

Imran Khan said that he wanted to put in place the new local system in these areas at earliest so that these people could be made master of their own destiny. Similarly he said that all hiccups in the way of early merger of FATA in the province would be made.

Chief of Naval Staff meeting with PM

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi called on Prime Minister in his office on Tuesday and briefed him on Navy’s preparedness to defend the country’s coastal borders in case of any eventuality. Prime Minister assured the Naval Chief that the financial and military needs of Pakistan Navy would be fully met.