Will return lights to city of lights again, claims Shehbaz Sharif

–Punjab CM says ‘it’s my dream to run a metro bus in Karachi’

KARACHI: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday claimed that he will “return lights to the city of lights”, as he made his first visit to Karachi after being elected as the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) following the disqualification of his elder brother, Nawaz Sharif.

Shehbaz met with the party’s local leadership and other delegations at the Sindh’s Governor’s House.

Addressing the meetings, Shehbaz said the PML-N will “always be the biggest political party of Pakistan”, claiming that the PML-N is the party of the people.

“Authorities and workers must keep unity intact among themselves and overcome personal grievances to work together. Regardless of the conspiracies being hatched by our political opponents, we should ensure that our strength and unity remain unaffected,” Shehbaz said.

The PML-N president also said that the metropolis had deteriorated due to corruption. “If money was not looted, then the situation of the city and the province would have been different. It is my dream to eradicate corruption from Sindh and Karachi and bring development,” he said.

The Punjab CM also said that the beauty of the city had been ruined by garbage, adding that is his dream to run a metro bus in Karachi.

Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair called Shehbaz a “ray of hope” for the people of Sindh. Referring to him as a symbol of development, he said the people of Sindh and Karachi want him to work for them the way he has worked for Punjab.

He also told Shehbaz that he has changed Punjab through hard work and vision and that he has done an extraordinary job for the development of health, education and other sectors.

The CM was welcomed by a number of party workers at the Karachi airport earlier on Saturday and was driven to the Governor’s House amid tight security. All the roads leading to the Governor House were festooned with banners and streamers featuring Shehbaz’s pictures.

On March 13, Shehbaz was elected as the PML-N chief, replacing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who remained the party chief until the Supreme Court (SC) declared him ineligible to head his party.

On Feb 21, a three-member bench of the SC, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar gave the verdict on a number of petitions challenging the controversial amendment to the Election Act 20117, which allowed Sharif to head his party.

The court declared that all decisions taken by Nawaz as PML-N president since July 28 stood null and void after the judgment.