ML-I’s PC-I sent to Planning Commission for onward processing: Sh Rashid

ISLAMABAD, Oct 24 (APP):Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad Thursday said the PC-I for Mainline-1 (ML-I) had been prepared and submitted to the Planning Commission for its onward processing.

“It is a defining moment for Pakistan as a PC-I of $US 9.32 Billion dollars has been sent to the Planning Commission for laying 1,800 kilometers track across the country after 14-year delay,” he said in a video message released here.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had been informed about the initiative. The prime minister had issued directions to expedite the process for early materialization of the project which would eventually boost the country’s economy, he added.

Rashid said he had apprised the prime minister that people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would start leaving their homes on October 30-31 to reach Raiwind (Lahore) on November 1 for annual religious congregation (Tableeghi Ijtema).

He said the prime minister was informed that the coinciding of Raiwind Ijtema and the Jamiat Ulema-e Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) March’s dates would create fuss.

The minister said the PM had informed him that the government’s reconciliation committee was going to hold meeting with opposition’s Rahbar Committee on Friday.

The final decision to let the JUI-F for holding the so-called ‘Azadi March’ in Parade Ground, Islamabad would be taken after the meeting, he added.

He said the prime minister prayed for the health of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and directed Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar Khan for providing best possible healthcare facilities to the central leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.