Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday challenged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government that he could complete the Bus Rapid Transit project in five months time.
The Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) president said this while addressing a workers’ convention during his first visit to the province after assuming charge of the PML-N presidentship.
He said if his party was given a chance by the people of the province it would prove that it could meet the challenge.
“Peshawar is my home. The people of this city have always been a great host,” Sharif said, adding, “If the Almighty gives me an opportunity, I will give Peshawar a metro train project in 2018.”
Sharif said that Peshawar’s metro bus project was being constructed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s provincial government at a cost of Rs71 billion, whereas the Lahore’s bus project was completed in Rs30 billion.
“Why is the KP government spending Rs40 billion more on the same project?” Sharif asked, addressing PTI chief Imran Khan.
He went on to criticise the PTI chairman, saying that Khan had no respect of the country’s institutions in his heart as he was not appearing before courts in defamation suits filed against him.
The PML-N leader said there was not a single big hospital in the city.
Taking a jibe at the PTI chairman, Sharif said he was fond of offering only tall claims to the people, while the PML-N was fulfilling its promises.
Referring to the Billion Tree Tsunami project, Sharif said it was a huge fraud with the people of the province.
Further, Sharif said that the PTI had promised to provide inexpensive electricity to people by constructing 356 mini power stations, but it failed to complete these schemes in the province. He said KP had vast potential for hydel generation, which had remained unexplored during the last five years, adding that if given the opportunity, the PML-N would make use of this potential for generating thousands of megawatts of electricity.
He said PTI led government had made its own created Ehtesab Commission toothless by making several unnecessary amendments in it, forcing Gen Retd Hamid Khan to resign as its first Director General and hence Imran Khan’s another claims of across the board accountability was exposed before masses.
Sharif said Imran Khan had left the people of Peshawar in every difficult situation, recalling that there was a dengue virus outbreak in the city, the PTI chief didn’t bother cutting short his vacations in Nathia Gali to visit the city.
“As a humanitarian gesture, I immediately deployed teams of specialist doctors and paramedics that conducted free dengue tests for the residents of Peshawar, besides provided extensive treatment to them that helped control dengue virus,” he said.
Senior provincial party leaders, including Amir Muqam and Murtaza Javed Abbasi, were present at the event held on Shami Road.
Separately, MNA Siraj Khan called on the PML-N president on Wednesday and announced leaving the PTI and joining PML-N instead.
Siraj Khan reposed his full confidence in the leadership of Shehbaz Sharif. “PML-N is the only political party in the country that can move the country forward in its journey of development and prosperity. The party has managed to take the country out of crises,” he said.
Sharif welcomed Siraj Khan and said that party would be further strengthened with his participation.
He said that those who failed to deliver in the last five years would be held accountable by the people in the elections. He said that the PTI did nothing except wasting time of the people and creating hurdles in development projects.
PML-N is the populist political party having its strong roots in the masses, he said.
Published in Daily Times, April 12th 2018.
