LAHORE - As the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) continues to grill the Punjab Chief Minister and members of his bureaucratic team for the alleged misuse of power, Prime Minister Imran Khan is continuously sending his close aides in Punjab to provide the much-needed moral and political support to his nominee in the province.
Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak reached Lahore on Tuesday to meet Sardar Usman Buzdar along with National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, who is already in the provincial capital. Senator Ayub Khan and MNA Amjad Ali Khan also joined them in the meeting.
A day earlier, a good number of National Assembly members from the ruling PTI led by Speaker Asad Qaiser also had a meeting with Usman Buzdar to send across the message that federal government was standing beside him.
The MNAs in that meeting reposed their full confidence in the beleaguered chief minister. According to an official handout, the federal government representatives discussed political situation and matters of mutual interests in the meeting with the chief minister.
Sources, however, said that the federal team also had discussion on the prospects of formation of joint committees on the pattern of Sindh to run the provincial affairs. The official release also quoted Minister for Defence Pervaiz Khattak as having told the CM that the federal and Punjab governments should benefit from each other’s experiences. The handout further said that they agreed to “further improve the mutual contacts”. The defence minister said that cooperation between Punjab and KP in different sectors was a commendable step.
The participants lauded the successful anti-corona policy of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Asad Qaiser and Pervaiz Khattak also appreciated the timely steps taken by the Punjab government to cope with spread of coronavirus.
Buzdar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the country had been put on the road to progress. “Imran Khan is a visionary leader and his guidance is a beacon for the rest of us”, the handout quoted the chief minister as having said in the meeting.
Buzdar also said that the PTI government had done the work of years in a short span of its tenure and rectified the errors and omissions of former governments.
He told the federal team that scope of development had been extended to smaller cities unlike the previous regime which laid it focus only on the major cities.
He further stated that his government was implementing its agenda of equal development for every village, town and city of Punjab.
Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser said that Punjab was making progress under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Buzdar.