LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is committed to making the country economically strong.

Talking to a delegation of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists at the Punjab Assembly here on Friday, Mr Elahi said that in the first 100 days in power, the premier had presented a clear roadmap to steer the country out of the economic crises.

He said Chief Minister Usman Buzdar was a common man and aware of the problems of the people.

“The Pakistan Muslim League is fully supporting Mr Buzdar and will help him succeed,” he added.

Mr Elahi said that his government had left Rs100 billion in the treasury of Punjab in 2007, however Shahbaz Sharif rendered the province bankrupt. “During 10 years of being chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif remained busy getting false cases instituted against us,” he claimed.

He said he was aware of the problems journalists were facing. “We had established journalists colonies in Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi and provided shelter to them and their families,” he said, adding that he would talk to the prime minister and chief minister for including journalists in the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2018