THARPARKAR: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday said no one was above the law, and no one would be allowed to shelter or support terrorists, and use them as a shield.
Condemning Tuesday’s terrorist incidents targeting military personnel, the premier said that the malicious agenda of Pakistan’s enemies would be foiled. He said the Constitution was supreme for all of Pakistanis.
He was speaking during his visit to Tharparkar’s Islamkot area for inauguration of two coal-fired power plants with the capacity of 1,650 megawatts of electricity generation.
PM Shehbaz said the projects — including the 1,320-megawatt Shanghai Electric power plant and 330MW Thal Nova power plant — would turn the desert into an economic hub and annually generate 11.24 billion units of low-cost electricity.
Through the direct investment of $3.53 billion into these projects, which were abandoned during the last four years and are now operational on PM Shehbaz’s directives, the production of coal-based electricity in Thar will increase up to 3,300MW.
He added that it was a moment of celebration for the entire country that Tharparkar was getting a source of basic facilities for life and also dismissed the criticism by a section of people who stand against Thar coal, terming it a blessing with immense potential for power resources that needed to be untapped.
PM Shehbaz expressed confidence that the journey of progress would spread across the country and would strengthen the national economy.
The premier said that the power turbines would be installed at the projects to generate electricity by April 30, which would be supplied to the rest of the country through transmission lines.
He expressed gratitude to the government of China for extending support to Pakistan in carrying out development projects under the CPEC. He vowed that the coalition government would put in all efforts to materialise the CPEC projects, with the agriculture sector as its next phase and announced a hospital for the locals to provide them with medical facilities at their doorsteps.
Also present on the occasion, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the project could be materialised only as the federal government and the Sindh government worked in harmony to facilitate the masses. He said it has always been a slogan of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government that Thar Coal would change the destiny of the country, and the slogan is turning into a reality now.
He said the Thar Coal had treasures of mines and more power and energy would be generated now. The issue of power shortages would end in the country in future, he added. The foreign minister said Thar had changed Pakistan as it was a revolution that coal produced from the Thar desert was powering Faisalabad industry, and Thari women had honed their skills in everything from driving lorries to engineering.
He expressed satisfaction over the level of cooperation between Pakistan and China on carrying out the development projects which, he said, had resulted in an improvement of health and educational facilities.
Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastagir Khan said the pluralist government of PM Shehbaz was committed to providing civic amenities to people across the country. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said the political and economic interests of Pakistan and China were aligned for the benefit of the two nations. He termed the completion of the Thar coal project a success for all stakeholders from both countries.
Chinese Charge d’Affaires Pang Chunxue said the commercial operation of the Thar Coal project ranked high among other coal-fired power plants. She assured all possible cooperation by the government of China in the field of development and progress. Shanghai Electric Power Company Limited is the executing agency of the projects, while the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) is the coordinating ministry, and Private Power and Infrastructure Board is the supervising agency.