OKARA: Rejecting calls by opposition parties to resign, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said that critics would not slow down the development process going on in the country. He was addressing a public meeting in Okara following the inauguration of wheat harvesting campaign. “They will keep protesting and we will keep on progressing,” the prime minister said. Referring to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) rally in Islamabad, the PM said: “That was a jalsi and this is a jalsa. This is the verdict of the people of Pakistan.” Rejecting the PTI’s demand for resignation, the PM said: “Nawaz Sharif will not resign on your demand. Go and play cricket. Politics is none of your business. You cannot run the country. Playing cricket sufficed you.” “It is strange that the inventors of loadshedding are now protesting. You should hold them accountable for dragging the country into darkness,” the PM said while alluding to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). “Those who have been trying to hinder the progress of this government have never thought about the nation. Did they even think about building motorways and developing the infrastructure of the country?” he asked. He said that a six-lane motorway was being constructed from Lahore to Karachi. “Our opponents are trying to drag us down because they know that they cannot compete with us. They know that if we keep working, they have no chance of winning in 2018,” the prime minister said. The PM said that the government had launched a number of power projects and load-shedding would be eradicated once and for all by 2018. On the occasion, the PM announced Rs 470 million for the provision of gas to Okara. He said that Rs 740 million were being spent on the construction of a flyover in the city, while Rs 200 million were being used for improving existing roads in Okara. The existing 200-bed hospital will be upgraded to a 500-bed facility, he said. The PM also announced to establish an industrial estate in Okara. He said that the Multan-Lahore Motorway would pass through Okara and Dipalpur. He announced to visit Dipalpur city before Ramazan.