— Aleem Khan apologises for remarks made by Chohan
LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Aleem Khan on Wednesday said that the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project will be completed between June and July this year.
Aleem Khan made the comments while talking to media in the provincial capital.
“We won’t close the project. As many as Rs300 billion have already been spent on the project even if I want to I can’t close it now,” he said.
“The king [Nawaz Sharif] has left us in great debts for years. We just want to minimise the losses,” he added.
“As many as Rs120 billion will be annually spent on Orange line train after five years from now. The Punjab government will have to spend Rs10 billion per month,” he elaborated.
The PTI leader said that the Punjab government plans to make earnings from all stations of the Orange Line.
In response to a question, he said that “my case has been under trial in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for four years and no decision has been taken on it yet”.
Aleem Khan is currently facing investigation by NAB for owning an offshore company, and has further allegations of land-grabbing and owning assets beyond known means.
He regretted that inquiry in the case against him could not be completed from 2015 till 2019. “Tell us if we are guilty, we will leave the politics, and if not, then all cases must be closed,” he insisted.
Aleem Khan also apologised for the recent remarks made by Punjab Information Minister Fayazul Hasan Chohan against journalists.
“Chohan is young, perhaps that’s why he got angry. I don’t like such tone and that’s why I have apologised before as well. On behalf of the entire government I render an unconditional apology,” Aleem Khan said.