Daily Times

LAHORE: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal called on Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif here on Friday.

During the meeting, measures take for counterterrorism, overall situation in the country and ongoing political issues came under discussion.

Both leaders expressed satisfaction on measures for the improvement of peace and security in Punjab. Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that sacrifices made by Pakistani nation in the war against terrorism were unprecedented.

He said that effective implementation on National Action Plan had broken the backbone of terrorists. He said that everyone in society needed to play their role in maintaining peace and stability in the country. He said that Pakistan will be made a heaven of peace by decisively defeating the menace of terrorism and every person will have to play its role in this regard.

Referring to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the provincial chief minister said that people of all provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, would equally benefit from the multi-billion CPEC-related projects. “It is worthwhile that China is making a historic investment of billions of dollars in Pakistan through CPEC and this project is a game-changer initiative in the real sense. The CPEC has opened the doors of foreign investment to Pakistan and it will also play an important role in elimination of terrorism and fanaticism in the region. He expressed the commitment that CPEC would alter the course of history and vowed that no conspiracy would ever be allowed to be succeeded against it.

Separately, lawmakers belonging to different districts called on Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

During the interaction, the chief minister said that present tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was filled with records of institutional transparency, public service and honesty. “This promotion of transparency by the incumbent government has also been acknowledged at the global level. The PML-N government has taken effective measures for eradication of corruption and this has been commended by international organizations as well.”

He went on to say that national resources had been utilised honestly for public welfare by considering them as a sacred trust in Punjab. “The Punjab government has set a new record by making a unique saving of Rs 682 billion in different projects and no such example is available in the 70 years history of the country,” he said.

In a veiled yet apparent reference to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he said that a particular party was trying to impede the journey of development through sit-ins, lockdown and agitation. “This party has done nothing for public welfare. The leaders of this party cannot face the people in their province. The people are fed up with the elements involved in the politics of anarchy and chaos and those who are obstructing the process of national development.”

He added, “In fact, politics of allegations and falsehood has died down before records of public service, honesty and transparency. Due to the politics of honesty and organisational transparency, the PML-N government is most popular in the masses. Our continued efforts have borne fruit and the people will reject the elements engaged in leveling baseless allegations in the next elections.”

Those who called on the chief minister included MNAs Nadeem Abbas Rabera and Raja Muhammad Javed Akhlas and MPA Sardar Muhammad Jamal Leghari MPA.

Published in Daily Times, February  24^th 2018.