LAHORE/PESHAWAR: While addressing the workers convention in Peshawar, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is given another chance, it will bring Peshawar at par with Lahore.
“Peshawar is my home and the people of this city have always been great hosts,” CM Shehbaz said. “If Almighty Allah gives me an opportunity, I would give Peshawar a metro train project in 2018.”
He also criticised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) ‘snail-paced’ Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project prior to his visit to Peshawar.
Shehbaz Sharif took to his Twitter account and said, “Today I am going to Peshawar to address PML-N workers convention. I’ll also try to have a look at the snail-paced BRT project to assess that in how much time, after winning next elections IA, we’ll be able to complete the project with, what our Chinese brothers say, Punjab speed.”
Today I am going to Peshawar to address PMLN workers convention.
I’ll also try to have a look at the snail-paced BRT project to assess that in how much time, after winning next elections IA, we’ll be able to complete the project with…what our Chinese brothers say…Punjab speed— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) April 11, 2018
The PML-N leader promised to complete the BRT project in five months.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Peshawar BRT Environmental Monitoring Report (EMR) declared unsatisfactory the project’s environmental, healthcare and safety compliance during the first two months ending on December 31, 2017, according to a report by a private media outlet.
The report noted that the contractor had been strongly advised to remove all deficiencies and gaps in the implementation arrangements for the environmental, health and safety requirements.
The report said that keeping in view the fact that the project was being executed in a highly-urbanised environment, it was expected that the environmental issues related to dust emissions and excavated material would continue to rise.
Shehbaz claimed that the Peshawar BRT project was being constructed by the PTI government at a cost of Rs 71 billion, whereas Lahore BRT project was completed at a cost of Rs 30 billion.
“Where is the rest of Rs 40 billion, Imran Khan,” he questioned. He also said that the PTI chief does not appear before the courts for hearings of the defamation cases filed against him.
It is pertinent to mention here that this is Shehbaz’s first visit to Peshawar after becoming the president of PML-N.
During his address, the Punjab CM called the Billion Tree Tsunami project of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government ‘a big fraud’.
Senior provincial party leaders, including Amir Muqam and Murtaza Javed Abbasi, were also present at the event held on Shami Road.
After the convention, Shehbaz Sharif went to Governor House and met KP Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra. Matters regarding political affairs and promotion of interprovincial harmony came under discussion during the meeting.
Later, the Punjab chief minister also visited former federal minister and Awami National Party leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour at his residence and held a detailed discussion about the current political situation of Pakistan with him.