PM questions retrogressive policies of former rulers

KHANEWAL, Nov 21 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Saturday said that the former rulers’s agenda based upon retrogressive policies only gifted the country with malaise of loadshedding, deprivation and terrorism.
Whereas, under the Pakistan Muslim League-N governments, the country always witnessed pro-development policies with an unending string of uplift projects, injecting vigour in the economy and road infrastructure, thus ensuring prosperity which encompassed all
regions of Pakistan, he added.  He was speaking to a gathering after performing inauguration
of 56kms four-lane Khanewal-Multan Motorway Section (M4).
The total cost of the project was Rs12.9 billion out of which
an amount of Rs 900 was saved in its execution. The M4 section
consisted of 44 underpasses, 4 interchanges, 17 bridges and 28
subways.
This section is an extension of Lahore –Karachi Motorway
which would facilitate traffic from Sindh, Balochistan, Gilgit
Baltistan and Punjab.
It would also serve as a major bypass road for Multan city and
help ease heavy vehicular traffic movement in the city.
The Prime Minister expressed his confidence that with the
completion of mega projects under the China Pakistan Economic
Corridor alongwith vital hydro, coal, LNG and solar projects and
agriculture schemes, Pakistan would enter the 21st century as a
developed country.
He regretted the policies of previous rulers which adversely
affected the lives of the countrymen and took huge toll of the
country’s economy.
“Instead of completing the Motorway projects after dislodging
our government in 1999, they gifted the industrial, domestic and
agriculture sectors with ever-pinching crisis of power outages,” he
said and questioned where was the seven-point agenda of such rulers.
Referring to scourge of terrorism, he said precious lives of
policemen, armymen, civil administration people and common men had
been lost.
“The matters were taken to the worst in the last one decade by
the former regimes and the country felt the pangs of untold
miseries,” he regretted.
The Prime Minister told the nation to hold those elements
accountable.
He said that accountability had already been started as
reflected in the recently held local government elections and the
last general elections.
The Prime Minister said that they had taken bold decision over
terrorism followed by solid actions, whereas Karachi operation was
also successful and referred to the recent incident of sacrifices by
the law enforcement personnel.
“We will not budge from our stance against terrorism and soon
Pakistan would be a better place, banishing the darkness of
loadshedding and terrorism forever,” he resolved.
Again referring to policies of former rulers, the Prime
Minister said that they created divisions and widened the distances
among the countrymen, leading to dismemberment of the East Pakistan.
Contrary to such negative tendencies, our government has
always fostered affection among all parts of the country by closely
integrating them into one cohesive whole.
He urged the nation to learn from the bitter lessons of the
past.
“Now under our government, Balochistan, Sindh, KPK and Gilgit
Baltistan are closely integrated and they feel stronger attachment
with other parts,” he added.
Governor Punjab Malik Muhammad Rafiq Rajwana, Federal Minister
for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan,
provincial high officials and legislators were present during the
ceremony.
The Prime Minister said that certain elements raised
objections and resorted to diatribe over the completion of Motorway
which was completed at a cost of Rs21 billion during his previous
tenure.
But, now they were all ardent supporters of such development
projects after failing to prove an iota of corruption, kickback or
fault in that project, he added.
The Prime Minister said that work on Motorway from Lahore to
Karachi had already kicked off and the entire country would be
linked to magnificent Gwadar seaport project.
He termed the Gwadar port as opening of ‘a new chapter of
progress’ in the country’s history by turning Balochistan into a hub
of development.
He said that section from Gojra to Shorkot was being executed
on fast-track basis in which billions of rupees had been saved. In
Faisalabad to Gojra section alone, an amount of Rs4 billion was
saved.
He announced that Khanewal to Multan section would be extended
from four to six lanes with riding quality of Islamabad-Lahore
Motorway which would reduce the distance between Multan and Lahore
by two hours.
He said they spent Rs 27 billion on construction of Attabad
Lake tunnels, facilitating the smooth and convenient travel between
Hunza and Gilgit.
The Prime Minister said that after completion of Multan-Sukkur
and Karachi motorway, people would prefer to travel on it as
travelling on Motorways had always been considered as secure and
convenient mode of transportation.
He also spoke of critics of Metro bus service, saying that
they were opponents of middle, working and toiling classes as they
did not want facilities for the students, females and labourers.
They were opposing the sign of country’s prosperity, he added.
The Prime Minister said that under their pro-farmers support
policies, his government had announced a huge Rs .341 billion Kisan
relief package.
The power tarrif for the consumes had been reduced and they
were trying to bring it further down, he said, adding “You were
disgusted with long hours of loadshedding in the past, but now it is
no more.”
He also urged all the chief ministers to help growers of
sugarcane to get the full price of their produce which was set at
Rs180 for per 40kg and asked the federal minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan to take personal interest in this issue.
The Prime Minister said that his government was not oblivious
to its responsibilities as they were also reaching out to the quake
affectees with prompt financial aid and reconstruction efforts.
He said that he was personally supervising such activities and
had visited Dir, Chitral, Bajaur and Swat.
Turning the China Pakistan Economic Corridor as flagship of
development for the entire country and region, he said that Lowari
Tunnel would be completed by next year, linking Chitral with the
rest of the country. He said the work on Hazara motorway in KPK was
also underway.
He said that they were also endeavouring to provide safe
drinking water to the countrymen and hinted that it could be
achieved in the next two years. Besides, they were keen to provide
all necessary facilities including sports in the educational
institutions.
The Prime Minister said that they desired to allocate billions
of rupees so that all areas should not feel any dearth of finance in
execution of their uplift projects.
The Governor Punjab and Mohammad Irfan Khan Dohawa, former
provincial minister also spoke on the occasion and lauded vision and
leadership of the Prime Minister.
Earlier, Chairman National Highway Authority Shahid Ashraf
Tarrar briefed the Prime Minister about the road projects.