- Says let’s gird up loins and work for country’s progress as peeping into past would be useless
- Performs soft launching of Rs50b Medical City, Rs52b National Health Support Programme and Rs30B Population Welfare Programme.
LAHORE: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday lambasted the criminal negligence and inefficient performance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government led by former prime minister Imran Khan Niazi, saying that the country paid heavy price for their blunders and political vendetta.
The prime minister expressed these views after performing the soft launching of various development projects which included Rs50 billion Medical City, Rs52 billion National Health Support Programme and Rs30 billion Population Welfare Programme.
وزیراعظم شہباز شریف نے 1263 میگاواٹ پنجاب تھر مل پاور پلانٹ، حویلی بہادر شاہ، جھنگ، کا افتتاح کر دیا۔
لاہورمیں افتتاحی تقریب سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے وزیراعظم شہباز شریف نے کہا کہ اس منصوبے کا آغاز 2017 میں محمد نواز شریف کے دور میں کیا گیا تھا اور اسے 2019 میں مکمل ہونا تھا لیکن گزشتہ… pic.twitter.com/yX4f1ii0Md
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 30, 2023
On the occasion, PM Shehbaz Sharif also broke grounds for SL-3 Lahore Ring Road project, Shahdara to Kala Shah Kaku Metro Bus extension project and inaugurated 1,263 MW Punjab Thermal power plant in Jhang with a capacity of generating 10 billion inexpensive units annually.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif unveils the plaque to mark the ground breaking of Southern Loop-3 project of Lahore Ring Road in Lahore. pic.twitter.com/mWvcIo70GA
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 30, 2023
Addressing the ceremony, the prime minister said Imran Niazi had neglected the completion of gas-fired Haveli Bahadur Shah power plant due to his animosity with the PML-N leadership and the country had to pay an additional whopping amount of Rs77 billion besides, its original cost of Rs74 billion at that time due to non-functionality.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif being briefed about the extenstion project of Lahore Ring Road SL-3. pic.twitter.com/kMCZ8E9Nmn
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 30, 2023
He said the project was to be inaugurated during 2019 but it was stalled due to criminal negligence of Imran Niazi and lack of interest of the previous government.
A huge amount of the nation went down the drain, causing huge loss for the poor country, he opined, adding it was one of the worst examples of PTI’s bad governance.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif unveils the plaque to mark the ground breaking of Lahore Medical City. pic.twitter.com/tZO7WTd8uv
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 30, 2023
“Who will be held accountable for such blunder? It is the continuation of a saga of 75 years for which they were all responsible,” he quipped.
Why the judiciary did not take suo motu notice of such negligence, the prime minister question, and maintained that he had no intention of victimization and did not want injustice with anyone, but there should be a transparent accountability of all those responsible for such failures whether it was done in a dictatorship or democratic regime, justice should be dispensed without any victimization, he said.
لاہور میں میڈیکل سٹی، SL 3 لاہور رنگ روڈ اور شاہدرہ تا کالا شاہ کاکو میٹرو بس جیسے منصوبوں سے عام آدمی کی زندگی میں بہتری آئے گی۔
وزیرِ اعظم محمد شہباز شریف کا لاہور میں مختلف ترقیاتی منصوبوں کے افتتاح و سنگ بنیاد کی تقریب سے خطاب۔ pic.twitter.com/RZcYojbARW— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 30, 2023
With such accountabilities, the nations in the world moved forward, he added.
The ceremony was attended by Punjab Governor, Caretaker Chief Minister, federal and provincial ministers, parliamentarians and the relevant authorities.
The prime minister said these were the facts which the nation must knew about the four years’ rule of Imran Niazi who played havoc with the national economy.
The prime minister said that they felt ashamed while carrying begging bowl due to those failures of the past government.
“It was a huge mishap of our history (PTI’s government) which is already strewn with such unpleasant incidents. If we do not change the attitude, we cannot aspire to to achieve anything,” he regretted.
Citing example of China, he said it had now become the world’s second largest economy.
Japan and Germany bounced back economically from the destruction of World Wars owing to commitment, devotion and determination, he added.
“Let us gird up loins and work hard for the country’s progress as peeping into past would be useless. If they failed, the public will not forget them. Let us wash away the blots of the past,” the prime minister stressed.
He also expressed the resolve to revive country’s economy by eliminating poverty and unemployment.
The prime minister also regretted that due to PTI’s sits in at D-Chowk during 2014, President Xi’s visit to Pakistan was postponed.
He said under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the PML-N government had initiated Haveli and Baloki power plants with power generation of 1200 MW each, besides, 1150 MW Bhikki project in Punjab.
The prime minister, on the occasion, said the Medical City project would be completed with all the allied facilities and would be at par with the world’s renowned health projects like the PKLI was ranked best among the Asia’s top institutes.
He said the federal and provincial governments would jointly execute the project.
About the 8km SL-3 Lahore Ring Road, the prime minister said the one part of the ring road was left out, adding now its completion would facilitate huge number of commuters by removing the vehicular congestion.
The extension of Metro bus project would serve thousands of commuters on daily basis, he added and directed for its completion within three months.
Governor Punjab Baligh ur Rehman also highlighted the performance of the coalition government during the past fifteen months in which mega projects of public interest were launched.
