Whether natural disasters or terrorist attacks Punjab Government miserably fails to act on advance warnings: Moonis Elahi

Lahore (September 02, 2010) Moonis Elahi, senior central leader of Pakistan Muslim League has alleged that Punjab under the burden of Shahbaz Government’s disastrous financial and administrative policies had submerged in deep and murky waters much before the floods began their devastation. Moonis Elahi has blamed the self proclaimed “Khadim-e-Ala’s” poor crisis management skills and his self serving “flood politics” as main reasons for the colossal loss of life and property in Punjab during and in the post floods phase. Moonis Elahi has called for Shahbaz Sharif’s resignation in the wake of his failure to protect people’s lives and well being during floods and against terrorist attacks. He has said that Pakistanis are a brave people and our true heroes are the floods stricken Pakistanis and the Pakistani individuals and institutions helping their brethren in this hour of dire need. Moonis Elahi made these comments during a meeting with party workers from Lahore at his residence today.

Moonis Elahi in his speech was highly critical of the poor law and order situation under N League in Punjab. Citing the tragic suicide bombing incidents at Data Darbar and Karballa Gamay Shah in Lahore, he said that if Shahbaz Sharif could not ensure security to religious places in his own family constituency then how he could ensure the security of the rest of the province. Criticizing Shahbaz administration’s poor response to advance warnings against floods as well as acts of terrorism in the province resulting in huge losses of life and property in both the cases Moonis Elahi demanded immediate resignation of Shahbaz Government and said that Shahbaz Government had lost all moral and political grounds to continue and with every passing day its legitimacy was becoming more questionable. Quoting a Punjab Government official’s statement where he had put the number of flood victims to whom Punjab Government had so far provided food at around only 250,000 people, Moonis Elahi remarked that it was an open admission of failure on their part as the number of flood affected and displaced in Punjab was in several millions. Moonis Elahi praised the flood affected Pakistanis for their exemplary fortitude in crisis and dubbed individuals and institutions working relentlessly for the relief and rehabilitation of their compatriots in trouble as the Nation’s true heroes.

After Punjab cabinet ministers’ show of no confidence the Chief Minister has no moral grounds to continue: Moonis Elahi

Lahore (August 26, 2010) Moonis Elahi, the senior central leader of Pakistan Muslim League has said that the self proclaimed “Khadim e Ala” of Punjab has no moral grounds to continue as the provincial chief executive in the wake of an open expression of no confidence in him by his own cabinet ministers.

Moonis Elahi has also demanded a high level judicial enquiry into the Punjab Senior Minister’s allegation of digging an illegal canal for the Chief Minister’s lands which has consequently rendered thousands of families homeless. He has also demanded a probe in the Punjab Senior Minister’s charge that the Chief Minister did not consult him once while ordering breaches of embankments during floods in the province.Moonis Elahi expressed these views in a meeting with party members in Lahore today.

Moonis Elahi alleged that various Punjab Cabinet members had been complaining for long against the Chief Minister’s one-man rule and his brain less policies but the recent statement by his own Law Minister against his boss’s fondness for extra-judicial killings and parading of bodies of suspects on roads and the increasing criticism of other cabinet ministers including the Punjab Senior Minister’s latest allegations were clear evidences of the Chief Minister’s dwindling popularity among his own cabinet colleagues.

Moonis Elahi said that the Punjab Chief Minister’s waning acceptance could further be gauged on account of his failure to solicit any worthwhile public donations during floods despite extravagant government funded media campaigns and highly expensive chopper visits. He said that the recent floods had fully exposed the incompetence of the incumbent Punjab Chief Minister and made the cracks in his government highly visible.

Moonis Elahi said that Punjab had not witnessed the likes of the recent floods and the current incompetent government in the last 100 years. Moonis Elahi directed Pakistan Muslim League and Tehrik e Quaid workers present in the meeting to stand by the flood victims in this time of dire need and continue efforts for the alleviation of their miseries and hardships.

Suicides on the rise in Punjab due to rulers’ incompetence : Moonis Elahi

(Lahore, June 19, 2010) A pall of gloom and morbidity has enshrouded Punjab since the return of the Sharifs in 2008.The alarming rise of suicide incidents in Punjab is the direct result of the province’s economic ruin brought about by Sharif “mal-administration” in the last two and a half years. How can the poor and the jobless survive when the budgeted personal daily expenses of the self-proclaimed “Khadim –e- Aala” are well over Rs.7 lacs? Sasti-roti drama has created further hunger and deprivation in the society. These views were expressed by Moonis Elahi, central leader of Pakistan Muslim League, during a meeting with members of PML Human Rights Wing in Lahore today.

The meeting was summoned to discuss the implications of the rising number of suicides in Punjab and to explore ways for the eradication of the causes leading to this unfortunate development. Commenting on the issue, Moonis Elahi strongly criticized the rulers and held them solely responsible for the unfortunate trend. He said that Punjab was the hardest hit and the highest number of suicide incidents had been reported in Punjab in the last six months. Moonis Elahi blamed Shahbaz government for the rising pessimism in the masses forcing some of them to take their own lives.

He said that N League had made false promises with the people at election time and in the last two and half years they had given them nothing except poverty, unemployment, inflation, crimes and now suicides. The present system of governance in Punjab is based on the whims and caprices of one man which had also seriously weakened the relationship between the citizen and the state, Moonis observed.

He said that in Punjab under the coercive Sharif regime citizens’ rights were being usurped, nepotism and jobbery were the order of the day and provincial resources were being squandered on poorly planned and counter-productive schemes. Criticising the roti scheme, Moonis said that N League’s government instead of launching the much needed poverty reduction initiatives had so far only come up with poverty production schemes like the roti scheme. They have not paid a paisa of Zakat fund to the needy and it is evident that they want the proud people of Punjab to hold a begging bowl instead of hammer, chisel or pen, he alleged. He stated that these factors compounded with the self-proclaimed Khadim-e-Ala’s incapacity to understand the gravity of the situation had resulted in wide spread depression and dismay in the fast growing numbers of poor and jobless of the province.

He said that the present situation had made the poor and the weak highly vulnerable and prone to take extreme steps including self-annihilation. He warned of a further worsening of the situation if the rulers did not wake up from their slumber and started undoing the extremely adverse effects of their own follies.

Moonis Elahi challenges N League to deny the facts in the PML White Paper during PA budget session

Lahore: Moonis Elahi, central leader of Pakistan Muslim League has challenged N League’s Punjab government to deny in the forth coming Punjab Assembly budget session the irrefutable charges brought up in the PML White Paper issued last week. He was talking to a delegation of Pakistan Muslim League comprising MPAs and party office bearers here in Lahore today after his two week visit abroad. Moonis Elahi said that Pakistan Muslim League by exposing the dismal administrative and financial performance of the incumbent Punjab government had fulfilled a national responsibility.

He said that this white paper was the first in the series and the coming episodes would further expose the incompetence, nepotism and corruption of the N League government. He said that although Pakistan Muslim League had released the White Paper last Thursday but so far no member of Punjab’s ruling family had come forward to refute the charges. Commenting on the Friday Press Conference of the PML spokesman in Lahore, Moonis Elahi said that the people of the province could no longer be deceived by the illogical and nonsensical spin of Jaati Umra’s jesters and the self-claimed Khadim e Aala should give up his habit of hiding behind salaried spin doctors who can’t even defend their own misdeeds let alone the misdeeds of their bosses.

He said that the PML White Paper was widely lauded by the people as it represented their genuine concerns and grievances against what he called N League’s two and a half years of “misrule”. What have the current Punjab rulers given to the province except financial bankruptcy, soaring crimes, rising inflation, phenomenal increase in suicides and sky-rocketing poverty? Asked Moonis Elahi.