Lahore: Punjab Assembly members Wednesday were taken aback to discover that state-owned land is leased to gymkhana clubs for as little as Rs417 per month, revealed by ruling party Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Mian Amjed Ali Javaid.

Initially thought to be Rs470, the discrepancy was clarified by another MPA, Sami Ullah Khan that it was not Rs470 but Rs417.

This revelation left legislators surprised, with Speaker Malik M Ahmad Khan unable to comment further.

Senior member Saeed Akbar Niwani lamented the stark contrast between the nominal fee for gymkhanas and the hefty charges on ordinary citizens.

Meanwhile, Minister Mian Shuja-ur-Rehman expressed surprise and promised to probe the matter, saying that he was not aware of the fact that which department owns the land.

Opposition MPA Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan urged the department to clarify its position on state-owned land.

It is pertinent to note that earlier in 2010, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Nighat Nasir Sheikh also floated this matter on the floor of the assembly and she was snubbed by the then Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Iqbal to not take up the matter and no development was made in this regard.

Lahore: The Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan Thursday met Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz.

In the meeting held at Jati Umra, Maryam Nawaz congratulated the newly elected Governor of Punjab Sardar Saleem Haider on his assumption of office. At the same time, various important issues for the development of the province were discussed in the meeting.

The two leaders expressed their determination to work together for the betterment of Punjab, sustainable development, and the citizens' quality of life. Economic development, governance, education, health facilities, law and order and other important issues including climate change were discussed in the meeting. While the determination to work together for the welfare of the people of Punjab was reiterated.

Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz said that every constitutional post is respected, there will be rule of law in the province. The governor is a constitutional post which is a means of communication between the provinces and the federation. The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) is being made more effective across the province.

She further said that many projects of education, health, road infrastructure and information technology have been started in Punjab, and special social protection programs have been commenced to ease the lives of the deprived sections.

On this occasion, Governor Punjab Sardar Saleem Haider Khan stated that every possible effort will be made to provide relief to the people of the province. The government will get full support from the Governor House to ensure the implementation of the constitution and law in the province.

Beijing: Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo'an Thursday reiterated his country's continued support to Pakistan in the efforts to strengthen financial stability.

He expressed these views while talking to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing today.

The Chinese Finance Minister, taking note of positive trajectory of Pakistan's economy, also commended Islamabad's economic agenda.

He appreciated Deputy Prime Minister's contributions to deepening the financial and banking cooperation between Pakistan and China.

Speaking on the occasion, Ishaq Dar underlined the government of Pakistan's reform agenda with its focus on governance, revenue, and ease of doing business to attract Foreign Direct Investment.

He also emphasized Pakistan's high priority to investments from China and shared an overview of the priority sectors identified for this purpose, including agriculture, IT, mines and minerals and renewable energy.

During the meeting, Ishaq Dar and Chinese Finance Minister expressed profound appreciation of Pakistan-China financial and banking cooperation calling it a manifestation of 'All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership' between the two countries.

They also discussed ideas to further enhance financial cooperation, especially in view of growing Business to Business linkages between Pakistan and China.