Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday said no talks would be held with President Asif Ali Zardari on any issue.
He was talking to reporters at Lahore airport after his arrival from Turkey. He said no issue had been left to be debated with Zardari.
Shahbaz said he would move the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the gas crisis in Punjab.
The chief minister said mayor of Istanbul was due to visit Pakistan next week.
Giving details of his visit to Turkey, he said the visit would strengthen bilateral relations between both countries.
He said during his visit, agreements on bus services and investment in canals was signed with Turkish authorities.
Shahbaz said he met the Turkish prime minister, president, Istanbul’s mayor and parliamentarians and exchanged views with them on various projects launched by Turkey in Pakistan.
“The machinery related to solid waste project will reach Pakistan from Turkey within two days. I have inspected the machinery and found it to be state-of-the-art and excellent,” he said.
Shahbaz said the Istanbul mayor would visit Pakistan next week, adding that an agreement had been signed with a Turkish bank.
“Another accord has also been signed with Turkey under which Turkey will invest in the project of launching metro bus service in Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Multan,” he said.
The chief minister said another accord on construction of hydel power project along the canals of Punjab had also been signed.
— answers queries on Facebook
ISLAMABAD – Amid strong indications of early elections in the country, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has started using social media to explaining that he himself bore his and his family’s expenses during the official visit to Turkey. To a question about his and his family’s visit to Turkey along with others on Facebook, the chief minister on Saturday claimed that only the expenses of government servants had been paid through the public exchequer. “We stayed in Istanbul in a hotel which was most probably a four star hotel, I, my wife Nusrat and daughter Ayesha and my delegation consisting of chairman of the Lahore Solid Waste Management Company, two maps and six government officials discussed and achieved frame work agreements on subjects ranging from Rapid Bus Transport System, Joint Cooperation on Vocational training to our youth, hydel and coal-based power generation to construction of infrastructure projects in Punjab,” he said when a questioner asked him to disclose the members of the delegation that visited Istanbul with him. “The question raised on Facebook is not only valid but it’s my duty to bring up facts as I am answerable to the people,” Shahbaz said, encouraging such questions. “As always, I paid for my expenses as well as my family’s travel and hotel expenses,” the chief minister said. He said Kh Hassan, chairman of the Lahore Solid Waste Company, former mayor of Lahore (1997-1999), Mian Nauman and Mehr Ishtiaq paid their travel and hotel expenses from their own pockets, adding that only government officials’ expenses were paid by the government of Punjab At the conclusion of the message posted on Facebook, he said, “I hope this reply answers your question”. This is the first time that such a trend is being observed in politics of Pakistan.
