Full marks to armed forces for clearing Waziristan of terror: Nawaz

CHOLISTAN: In the first tangible leap to eliminate loadshedding in the country, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday inaugurated the 1,000MW model solar power plant here in the desert of Cholistan amid scorching heat touching 47 degrees centigrade.
Addressing the gathering on the banks of the Bahawal Canal, Nawaz said it was solely due to the brave armed forces of the country that terrorism had been eliminated in Waziristan paving the way for the return of the ‘temporarily displaced persons’ (TDPs) to their homes.
“This is a great achievement and our armed forces deserve appreciation.”Inaugurating the solar project, Nawaz said it was for the first time in Pakistan that a democratic government was delivering.
“We want to make sure that the incumbent government completes projects on time unlike previous governments. Loadshedding will become history by 2017-18.”He said the government also wanted to improve relations with Afghanistan and eliminate terrorism in the entire region.
Speaking about the Karachi situation, Nawaz said the situation in the city had improved considerably. “Extortion, target killings and kidnappings for ransom have significantly reduced. Now the political situation in Karachi is required to improve,” the PM said and added that Karachi will once again be the city of lights.
The huge marquee where hundreds of jubilant people were present for the ceremony was chilled by the solar energy.Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif announced an industrial estate in adjoining Bahawalpur where one-shift industry would be established.
Nawaz said Pakistan and China would constitute a special committee to monitor and ensure timely completion of $46 billion projects launched by the two countries.He said the world was acknowledging the progress made by Pakistan. He reminded that the power projects and Chinese investment had sent a positive message to investors, who were previously reluctant to invest in the power sector.
The Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park (QASP) is not just the biggest solar project of Pakistan, but also of the entire world. The prime minister said energy crisis was the second most important issue and now there was hope that the government will soon tackle the energy crisis through this solar project, coal projects and other energy projects.
He further said 1,000 MW electricity will be produced in the Park in the later phase while Thar Coal Power project as well as other projects will collectively add 10,400 MW power to the national grid in future.
He said democracy was delivering tangible results for the first time adding that the cost of electricity had decreased significantly by Rs5.79 per unit and it’s a huge achievement.
Our Correspondent from Lahore adds: earlier, addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the solar project launch was a big achievement. It would develop South Punjab. He announced setting up of industrial estates in Bahawalpur and its adjoining areas. He said that the establishment of industrial estates and solar power projects would promote industrialisation in South Punjab, creating job opportunities and solving problems being faced by the country. He said the industrial estates would create thousands of jobs for the youth and develop the area. He said TBEA Chairman Zhang Xin and his team gave an outstanding performance and proved that anything was possible with hard work and honesty. He also thanked the Chinese ambassador for his all-out cooperation in the project.
He said a number of development projects including metro bus project suffered badly due to PTI and PAT sit-ins in Islamabad. He said that it was time to forget the past and move forward with a new commitment.
He said the prime minister should take notice of Pakistanis investing abroad and hold them accountable. He said this project would be enlisted in the stock market. He said 30,000MW solar electricity was being produced in Germany where there was no sunshine.
Diverting to the prime minister, Shahbaz said: “Allah Almighty has given you an opportunity to make the economy of Pakistan invincible just as defence with nuclear tests.” He said a system of reward and punishment would have to be adopted and those who served the masses would be encouraged while those creating hurdles in the process of public service would be strictly dealt with. He requested the prime minister to give Tamgha-e-Khidmat to CEO Najam Shah.