Daily Times

MANSEHRA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Sunday announced projects of a medical college, separate electric supply company, and development projects worth a billion rupees for the Hazara region.

Addressing a public meeting here, he said the medical college would be built in Mansehra so that youth could join the medical field. He said Nawaz Sharif constructed Hazara motorway and people remember him as the builder of Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif laid a network of motorways including Hazara motorway and Multan Sukkur motorway under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, he recalled.

Nawaz Sharif worked day and night to put Pakistan on the road of progress and prosperity, he added. Shehbaz said under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would also be made a developed province to bring it at par with Punjab. He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would have to reject Imran Niazi who was arrogant, telling lies, and taking u-turns, adding Imran was hoodwinking people and took inflation to the highest level in his three and a half years and there was massive increase in poverty and unemployment.

Imran Niazi did not fulfill his promise to build five million houses and create 10 million jobs, he said adding millions of people lost their jobs during tenure of the last government. He said Nawaz Sharif developed Pakistan while Imran Khan damaged interests of the country. The government would respond to the abuse of Imran Niazi by initiating development projects.

The PM said he had to increase the prices of petrol with a heavy heart but at the same time a subsidy of Rs 28 billion per month was given to 85 million people as the government was aware of their problems. Every family under the scheme would get a subsidy of Rs 2,000 per month on petrol purchase, he told. He said Imran Niazi in his last days reduced the prices of petrol at a time when the prices were very high in the international market.

Imran knew that he was being ousted from the government through constitutional means so he set a trap for the incoming government, he observed. He said he would provide 10 kilogramme flour bag for Rs 490 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa if the chief minister of the province did not agree to his request in the next 24 hours to fund the scheme for provision of flour at subsidized rates.

People in Punjab were already getting flour at this rate, he told. While at the utility stores 10 kg flour bag would be given for Rs 400 across Pakistan including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, he informed. The PM said Imran Khan burdened the country with huge loans which would be paid back by coming generations He said a scheme of free laptops would be announced in the next budget in June for youth who would achieve distinction in the examinations.

Shehbaz said local bodies elections were held peacefully in Balochistan and the voter turn out remained at 30-35 percent which was a very encouraging development. It proved that people in the far flung areas of Balochistan had trust in the democratic process and in the environment of security, he added.

PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz, PML-N leaders Amir Muqam, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Sardar Shahjahan, Captain ® Safdar Awan, and Sardar Muhammad Yousaf also addressed the gathering. Earlier, the prime minister also inaugurated a number of development projects for the area.