LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced to reserve the newly-constructed building of Punjab House Murrree for educational purposes. The building was handed over to Punjab Endowment Fund at a ceremony in Murree on Sunday and it will be used for providing boarding and lodging facilities and educational activities for the boy and girl students obtaining top positions in curricular and extra curricular fields, says a handout. Addressing a function held in this regard, the chief minister said resources of Punjab are at the disposal of talented and brilliant students. He said the building constructed at a cost of billions of rupees by the former government for the rulers and elite will now be utilised for the promotion of education. He said there is no justification for the monopoly of elite class on national resources and the dream of transforming Pakistan in accordance with the ideals of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal, cannot be realized without allocating national resources for the poor and under-privileged segments of the society. He said that decision to make Punjab House Murree a centre of education is a part of programme to provide maximum resources to those children who are the future of the country and have displayed their best abilities despite difficult circumstances. He said that delegations of students visiting foreign countries studying at foreign universities with the financial assistance of Punjab government, the position holders of different examinations besides special children will benefit from this building. He said that the building will prove to be a center for seminars and discussions on educational and scientific topics. He said that he is dedicating this building to those lakhs of talented and brilliant Pakistani students who do not have proper facilities but are working hard in difficult conditions for earning a name for their parents as well as Pakistan. The Chief Minister on this, occasion announced sending five talented students to the best universities of the world for post-graduate education and said that this number will be increased next year. He said that setting up of educational endowment fund worth Rs.6 billion and Danish schools and establishment of computer labs in more than 4000 government schools is a part of the programme to divert educational funds to the common man. Pervaiz flays Babar Awans statement about govt The spokesman of Punjab Government, Senator Pervaiz Rashid has said that if Babar Awan gives up the habit of seeing things with a prejudiced eye and opposition for the sake of opposition, he will see that a number of development projects are being executed across Punjab province, says a handout on Sunday. He said that the project of Institute of Cardiology and Kidney Transplant and Urology Center at Rawalpindi are a big achievement of the government. He said that Rawalpindi Urology Center will be completed at a cost of Rs3028 million. He said two projects for the provision of potable water to the people of Murree are in progress. He said a sum of Rs177 million is being spent on one project and Rs98 million have so far been spent on it. He said project of water supply to Murree from River Jhelum is also in progress and a sum of Rs980 million has been spent on this project. Senator Pervaiz Rashid said that in order to irrigate agri lands of Potohar, six small dams have been constructed in Jhelum and Rawalpindi districts at a cost of Rs15 billion during the last two years which will irrigate 10,650 acres of land. He said eleven small dams are being constructed in Rawalp-indi, Chakwal and Aftock areas which will be completed by 2011 and irrigate 20,500 acres area. Senator Pervaiz Rashid further said that 40,000 educators have been recruited in the province out of which 1,472 have been recruited in Chakwal, 1,041 in Jhelum and 2,485 in Rawalpindi. Moreover, 15 Danish Schools are being established in Rawalpindi Division, therefore, the statement of Babar Awan that the focus of development activities is only Lahore and Potohar is being neglected, is incorrect and baseless. Senator Pervaiz Rashid further said the elements talking of Takht Lahore are the same who distributed sweets at the hanging of their leader and welcomed dictatorship. He said that these elements are hardly in a position to talk about democratic values and the masses. He said these bogus political leaders can only indulge in fake politics on the basis of their counterfeit degrees and have nothing to do with principled or positive politics. He said that Punjab government is distributing funds equitably on the basis of population and the problems of the areas while development funds are being provided to backward and far flung areas on priority basis to bring them at par with the developed areas of the province. He said that had Babar Awan had studied the former and the recent budget documents, he perhaps would have thought twice before issuing such misleading statements. He said that on the instructions of Chief Minister Punjab, development projects of Rs120 billion were announced for South Punjab and work is currently in progress on projects worth Rs135 billion. He said that the population of South Punjab is 33% of the total population of the country but in the current budget 48% share has been given to South Punjab. Senator Pervaiz Rashid further said that as the degree of Babar Awan is bogus, he is trying to save his skin in the garb of legislation to protect fake degree holder politicians. He said that Babar Awan is doing no service to democracy by using such terms as Takht Lahore as it reflects only his sick mentality and could also prove to be disastrous for the democracy. He said that PPP leadership should put a check on such ministers. He said Babar Awan should admit the fact that Muslim League-N and its leadership is popular all over the country and believes in national politics and not in provincialism or regionalism.