LAHORE: The caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi said on Tuesday that good news will come soon regarding improvement in the country’s economic situation.
Talking to a delegation led by President of All Pakistan Newspapers Society, Naz Aafreen here on Tuesday, the CM said the caretaker Punjab government will present a budget of four months. Issues regarding the newspaper industry came under discussion during the meeting and the CM assured to solve the problems of the newspaper industry.
“I have issued instructions for early payment of dues to newspapers,” the CM informed the APNS delegation.
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The CM maintained that along with attacks on Jinnah House, a dangerous plan was hatched to burn valuable aircrafts in the attack on the Mianwali Air Base. Attackers of Mianwali Air Base brought weapons concealed in trolleys filled with straw. In Mianwali, the policemen continued to fight the attackers even while injured, he added.
He stated that the attack on Jinnah House was pre-planned.
Mohsin Naqvi said that by showing two-year-old videos about ill-treatment of women prisoners in the jails, a nefarious propaganda is being churned out. About 11 women involved in attacks on military installations are in jail on judicial remand, he stated. He said that some 500 women were wanted in the May 9 incidents but the government practiced restraint. Clear instructions have been given to not arrest anyone innocent.
The provincial caretaker Information Minister Aamir Mir said that the system of advertisements in newspapers is being digitized, through which payments can be made in the shortest possible time. The provincial Information Secretary Ali Nawaz Malik said that payment of dues has started. Moreover, while chairing a meeting at his office, to assess the measures taken to enhance cotton cultivation and production, the CM called for a rigorous crackdown on counterfeit pesticides across the province, instructing the police and line departments to take strict action against those involved in the production and sale of spurious pesticides.
During the meeting, it was agreed to provide cotton growers with pesticides at subsidized rates through Punjab Bank’s “Shandaar Cotton Programme,” facilitating easy loans for the cultivators. Additionally, the meeting revealed the initiation of an agriculture internship programme to manage cotton crops and the upcoming launch of the Cotton Crop Management Advisory Service, led by young agriculture graduates. Furthermore, an international cotton conference is scheduled to be held in Multan.
The commissioner Bahawalpur informed the participants of the meeting that record-breaking cotton cultivation has been accomplished in an area spanning 208,400 acres in Bahawalpur.
The CM in a meeting with the Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Neil Hawkins said that Australias support for Livestock and Dairy Development and Police training would be welcome. He stated that Australia has a lot of expertise in Livestock and Dairy Development, and Punjab government intends to benefit from the Australian model in these fields.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023