The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers should focus on strengthening the party’s position in Sindh, including Karachi as the party would actively participate in the general election 2018 from the port city and other parts of the province.
These views were expressed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while addressing the local PML-N leaders and prominent members in Karachi on Tuesday.
Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair, Federal Ministers Khawaja Saad Rafique, Dr Ahsan Iqbal and Senator Nehal Hashmi were also present on the occasion.
Nawaz Sharif reiterated that the ongoing operation in Karachi was neither any party nor group specific, as it was against crime and terrorism.
He said the menaces being suffered by Karachi were inter-linked and the operation would continue until peace was fully restored in the metropolis.
“This will continue till the reputation of Karachi as the City of Lights is restored in the truest sense,” he remarked.
Nawaz Sharif said the PML-N assumed power in 2013 when Karachi was facing a wide range of problems, mainly poor law and order situation, and terrorism.
“The government through close consultation with all political parties had initiated an operation that is paying off now,” he added.
He said the PML-N government in last four years had played an important role in improving the situation as presently normalcy had returned to a great extent in Karachi, with hustle and bustle at its commercial centres.
Nawaz Sharif said he was fully conscious that the Karachi residents were presently facing a big challenge of handling garbage, water scarcity and poor sanitation due to inadequacies.
“We are striving hard to ensure that provincial and city governments play their due role in addressing the situation,” he said.
Karachi, he said, was once used to be one of the best cities in the world, however, the situation had changed drastically and its people were now facing severe difficulties.
The prime minister said Karachi would definitely witness marked improvement and development as seen in Lahore and other urban centres of the country.
The federal government, he said, was committed to the task and was funding major development schemes for the mega city.
He particularly referred to the Karachi Circular Railway that had been included in the CPEC.
Work on Karachi-Lahore Motorway, he said, had also been initiated while its Karachi-Hyderabad patch was near completion.
Green Line Bus project, he added, would be completed by end of the current year while work on the Thar Coal project was also underway.
“Completion of all the projects will accelerate the pace of progress in entire Sindh,” he said.
The prime minister said the people of Sindh, including Karachi, had a tremendous love for the country. They were fully committed to the national interests, which, he said, was witnessed during the recent held public meeting addressed by him at Thatta.
He urged the local PML-N leadership to forge unity in their ranks and work with full devotion and dedication so that the party could perform well in the next general election.
