Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif expressed his determination to pursue the PML-N’s agenda of development on Friday and said those creating hurdles in the way of development agenda would fail miserably.
He was addressing a public gathering after inauguration of Sangla Hill interchange at Faisalabad-Pindi Bhatian Motorway.
“This is the agenda of Pakistan’s development. Some people are trying to stop this. But it will not stop, as the people of Pakistan are with Nawaz Sharif, and we will continue to pursue the agenda of development.”
The 3.7 km interchange, constructed at a cost of Rs. 299.2 million, would provide the residents of the area an easy access to Lahore, Islamabad, Sargodha, Chiniot, Chak Jhumra, Faisalabad and Jhang.
Nawaz Sharif referred to various development projects initiated or completed during the last three years including the construction of roads and motorways, as well as energy projects, and said “Those who are creating hurdles do not want to see end of loadshedding and cheaper electricity, but their agenda will get fail, and our agenda will succeed.”
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was changing the fate of Pakistan including that of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa (KPK).
“Look at the KPK, where they wanted to make a new Pakistan, but now we are making a new Pakistan there through construction of motorways and bringing in electricity,” he remarked.
“When electricity would be cheaper, who will benefit from it?” he questioned and said it would be the people, farmers, industrialists and the domestic consumers.
The prime minister said the menace of terrorism has been curbed to a large extent from across the country, including Karachi and Balochistan.
“Look at the Pakistan of today and that of three years’ back, the world has recognised that Pakistan is moving ahead with development,” he added.
The prime minister said that due to the government’s development agenda, unemployment would end, poor people would prosper and illiteracy would be eliminated.
He said the present government was constructing roads and motorways, adding, the construction of Sangla Hill Interchange would reduce travel time from Lahore to Sangla from the existing two and half hours to one and half hours.
The prime minister said the construction of roads was facilitating the farmers to take their agricultural produce to markets at low cost, as well as the consumers who get vegetables, fruit, sugarcane, wheat etc on lower rates.
Nawaz Sharif said his government was working day and night to end electricity load-shedding by 2018.
Prime minister regretted that the previous governments did nothing to check energy crisis.
Similarly, he said, Motorway upto Lahore was completed by the PML-N government in 1999, and this time work was in progress on the Motorway project from Lahore to Karachi.
The prime minister said Pakistan Railways and Pakistan International Airline (PIA), which were on the decline during the previous regimes, have been revived.
“We are here to serve you. We are giving laptops to the youth, constructing schools and hospitals,” he said and added the government was planning to construct new 50 state-of-the-art hospitals across the country to boost health facilities for the masses.
The Prime Minister on this occasion also announced the provision of Sui Gas to Sangla Hill as well as in the villages of NA 103.
He also announced to restore an under-pass in Sangla Hill at Lahore-Faisalabad Railway track and said work on it would be initiated very soon.
The prime minister announced the construction of 250-beds hospital in Nankana Sahib, and extension of Faisalabad-Sahinawala expressway to Sangla Hill.
Besides, he added, the road from Sangla Hill Interchange to Tibba Shah Behlol would be doubled.
Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Birjees Tahir, speaking on the occasion, thanked Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif for fulfilling his promise of construction of Sangla Hill Interchange.
He said Nawaz Sharif had made this promise during his election campaign in 2013 and now this promise has been fulfilled.
He said the construction of this interchange would not only benefit the people of this area, but it would also facilitate Sikh pilgrims in Nankana Sahib and would help promote tourism in the area.
Birjees Tahir said Prime Minister Sharif, who had made Pakistan an atomic power and now strengthening the country’s economy through his prudent policies.