LAHORE: Despite criticism, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz stays to chair administrative sessions with his daughter, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
Mr. Sharif co-chaired a meeting on Monday to discuss problems facing the province’s agricultural industry.
The supreme head of the PML-N has mostly remained quiet since the general elections on February 8. But in his rare subsequent public appearances, he has been observed co-chairing or chairing administrative sessions of the Punjab administration with his daughter.
This has raised concerns because Mr. Sharif is merely recognized as a member of the National Assembly and has no official position in the provincial or federal governments.
The PML-N supreme leader remarked during the meeting on Monday that it is “a matter of grave concern” because high-quality seeds are still hard to come by even after decades.
In order to prevent 37 million acres feet (MAF) of water from being lost during agricultural operations in the province, he asked for “effective steps.”
He emphasized that in order to conserve water, irrigation practices today must be used. It was reported to the meeting that 7,300 water courses in Punjab might be paved, saving 1.7 MAF of water.
The meeting also covered the steps that must be taken to raise Punjab’s farm mechanization rate from 35 to 60 percent.
The distribution of a Rs. 150 billion loan to farmers for the Rabi and Kharif crops was also covered. Mr. Sharif gave instructions to create straightforward qualifying standards so that farmers could obtain loans.
A Rs. 500 million research endowment fund at the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute in Faisalabad was also approved by CM Maryam. The Fertilizer and Pesticide Act was also decided to be amended at the meeting.
The conference was attended by PML-N leader Pervaiz Rashid, provincial ministers Marriyum Aurangzeb, Azma Zahid Bukhari, and Ashiq Hussain Kirmani, as well as other officials.
On Monday, CM Maryam presided over a combined gathering of the PML-N, PPP, and PML-Q parliamentary parties to deliberate on the approach towards the Senate elections.
The chief minister was reassured by PPP parliamentary party leader Ali Haider Gilani that his party will back PML-N candidates Bushra Butt and Anusha Rahman in their race for women’s seats.
