Karachi: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has expressed the apprehension that the conspiracy to delay next general elections would succeed if the Senate fails to pass the delimitation bill.
Talking to newsmen here on Tuesday, the interior minister said that in such a situation, people would be right to say that the political parties have lent support to interim government for an extended time period. He said after passage of the bill by the parliament, Election Commission Pakistan would require another five to six months to carry out the delimitation of constituencies.
He said Karachi has transformed a lot from what it used to be in 2013 as the incidents of extortion and target killings have largely been overcome. He said playgrounds of the megapolis have once again started to witness sporting activities. He said nobody would be allowed to disturb law and order situation of the city anymore. The minister said the government had the resolve to make Karachi peaceful and transform the city into an engine for economic progress of the country. He said whosoever indulged in crimes in Karachi would be dealt with in accordance with the law. He said the government is in touch with the foreign governments for repatriation of suspects, accused of committing crimes and wanted by the law-enforcement agencies in Pakistan.
While considering Karachi as economic hub of the country, the federal government has extended financial support for constructing Green Line section of the Rapid Bus Transit Service as well as the K-IV Greater Karachi Water Supply Scheme. He said the government had also been able to overcome electricity crisis which was persisting in the country.
He said the forces opposed to progress and development wanted political instability in Pakistan. Ahsan said all the democratic forces should work for the progress of Pakistan as he hoped that all the institutions would lend support. He said the government has done its best so the country achieves economic self-reliance in the minimum possible time.
He said China entrusted Pakistan with the CPEC project at a time when nobody else in rest of the world reposed trust in the country. Ahsan said the CPEC had been envisioned by the both the countries jointly under Vision 2025 of Pakistan and “One Belt One Road” initiative of China. He said during one year, Pakistan and China have signed agreements to the tune of $46 billion. He said $8 billion have been earmarked for upgrading the infrastructure of railways and after implementing this project, trains would move at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour. He said Pakistan is also going for building a CPEC information highway.
He said that CPEC is being built to secure four major targets and foremost among them was to transform Gwadar into a modern international coastal and commercial city. He said a master plan is being adopted in consultation with the Chinese authorities for the proposed Gwadar port city. He said the second main target of CPEC is self-reliance in energy sector as investment to the tune of $35 billion is being poured into the new energy projects. He said the third target of CPEC is infrastructure development under which infrastructure for road and railway transportation would be built.
The fourth CPEC target is industrial development. He said that by 2030 Central Asian states would also be included in this project.
