LAYYAH: Beaming at a large crowd gathered in the District Sports Complex here on Tuesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he was delighted by the support he had received in Layyah, which boded well for his political party in the coming general elections.

`Today`s massive public gathering, spread over a mile, could easily contain 10 of our opponents` Jalsian (small public meetings),` he said.

A large number of women and children also attended the public meeting.

The prime minister referred to hissupporters as `tigers` as opposed to `jackals` supporting his political rivals.

`Even a hundred jackals cannot beat a tiger,` he said.

He laid the foundation stone of the Layyah-Taunsa bridge over the Indus and announced several development projects for the south Punjab district, including gas supply to Karor tehsil and Fatehpur and Chowk Azam towns.

The bridge is expected to cost Rs7 billion and will be completed in two phases.

Mr Sharif said his government had adopted innovative methods to bring prosperity to underdeveloped areas of the country.

He said the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Layyah-Taunsa bridge was a practical example of the government`s efforts to bring impoverished areas on a par with developed parts of the country.

`Layyah has been included in thepilot survey of the Benazir Income Support Programme, which will bring financial relief to hundreds of poor families. We have also launched a health card scheme which will provide poor people access to state-of-the-art health facilities,` he added.

Continuing sarcastic barbs directed at his political opponents, the prime minster said, `Watching this large gathering on television screens, our opponents may get depressed enough to even quit politics.

In a veiled reference to a recent public gathering of the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf in Islamabad, he said there was an `assembly of vacant chairs` under a volley of bright lights.

Following the prime minister`s address, a 55-year-old participant of the public meeting suffered a heart attack. Abdul Hameed was taken to the District Headquarters Hospital where he died.