Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari, responding to a statement by Salik Hussain, said that his anger over the appointment of a Deputy Commissioner of his choice was unjustified. She said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz did not appoint Deputy Commissioners at anyone’s behest but made decisions strictly on merit and in accordance with government policy.
She said Maryam Nawaz had permanently put an end to the culture of favouritism, personal preferences and recommendations in administrative appointments and government decisions. Azma Bokhari maintained that there was no room for land grabbers and strongmen in Punjab anymore. The practice of securing government positions for employees of political estates through personal recommendations had also come to an end. “Salik Hussain should not bite the hand that feeds him,” she remarked, adding that instead of issuing political statements, he should have sought the facts from Shafay Hussain. The Information Minister said Maryam Nawaz had ensured the transparent and equitable distribution of Punjab’s development budget, extending development resources to smaller cities across the province. For the first time, development projects of a similar nature had been launched across all cities of Punjab without discrimination. A comprehensive road network was being developed throughout the province, she said, adding that every citizen of Punjab had an equal right to provincial resources and the public exchequer, just as the residents of Lahore did. She pointed out that laptops and scholarships being provided to students in Lahore were equally available to students in Gujrat, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Sahiwal and Sargodha. Similarly, electric buses operating in Lahore were also providing modern transport facilities to residents of Multan, Vehari and Rahim Yar Khan. Under the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar programme.
