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CM inaugurates swimming complex of world class at Qaddafi Stadium
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that no nation can progress through sit-in, lockdowns and agitation, as Pakistan belongs to all of us and we all have to develop it.
“Let’s join hands together and work collectively for the betterment of the country,” he said after inaugurating the Punjab International Swimming Complex at the Qaddafi Stadium. Inspecting different sections, he asked players and their coaches to play best and bring laurels home.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, he said that an international standard swimming complex has been developed in the provincial metropolis and a number of facilities have been provided for the players. He hoped that this complex would play an important role in promoting the sport of swimming.
He said that special attention was being given to the promotion of the sports activities and eight billion rupees has been provided for it. Quite a number of new sports fields for hockey, cricket and football games are being constructed in the province.
The chief minister said that the state-of-the-art hockey stadiums have been established in five selected cities while sports grounds were also being developed in other districts to facilitate the young people. Similarly, gymnasiums have also been set up to encourage youth to take part in different sports activities, he said.
He lamented that the menace of squatters has spread everywhere and thousands of acres of the land amounting to billions of rupees has been occupied by this mafia in different provinces. “There is a need to recover these lands from the encroachers to provide sports facilities to the youth,” he said.
Chief Minister Shehbaz said that the Punjab government has recovered hundreds of acres of land from the land grabbers and constructed sports fields there. “There is a need to recover these lands from them so that they could be properly utilised for the public welfare,” he said.
He said that the expatriate Pakistanis purchase lands and properties but unluckily, these assets were encroached upon. The Punjab government has set up the Overseas Pakistanis Commission to save the precious properties of Pakistanis living abroad from the land grabbers and this institution has provided prompt relief to thousands of the expatriates.
He said that the rule of Law was the only way forward and “we have taken effective steps” to control any unlawful act. “If you try to disturb the souls of Quaid and Allama Iqbal through sit-ins and agitation, then the nation will foil the nefarious designs,” he said.
“I invite you to examine the development projects including sports fields, educational institutions and most modern hospitals because no nation can progress through sit-ins and agitation. We want to establish such projects in other provinces as well so that the people living there could progress as well,” he said.
The chief minister congratulated minister and the team members over the completion of the Punjab International Swimming Complex and said that whole team has worked with dedication to complete this project. He advised the administration to ensure merit in appointment of the trainers through a merit-based system.
He said that famous players including Akhtar Rasool, Intikhab Alam, Aqib Javed and Zaheer Abbas were present in the ceremony who have made Pakistan famous in the world. He also appreciated efforts of former sports secretary and the director general for the promotion of sports activities. He announced to regularise the 70 employees of the Punjab Sports Board and added that the persons qualifying the criteria would be regularised.
Sports Minister Jahangir Khanzada and Steering Committee for Sports Sector Development Chairman Hanif Abbasi also addressed the ceremony. Chief Minister Shehbaz witnessed two swimming competitions and gave away prizes to the winners. He was also briefed about the steps taken for the promotions of sports activities.