Beware of impersonators, reject those leaving PML-N, says Abbasi

Ag APP

MANANWALA (Sheikhupura): Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday said those who were not loyal to the party could never be loyal to masses and expressed the confidence that the people would reject the opportunists in the upcoming elections.

Advising the people to be aware of the impersonators and vote for the ruling party, he said the PML-N always carried out politics of respect and dignity, not of abuses and immorality. “Those who do not respect others cannot respect the vote either.”

Addressing a public gathering after inaugurating gas supply to different localities of NA-136, the prime minister said the people would respond to such people in elections, who could only serve their own interests, not of the people.

Abbasi – who was accompanied by Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, Irfan Dogar MNA and local PML-N leadership – said his party would stand victorious from Sheikhupura district in next elections too.

He told the gathering that the government had launched gas supply projects worth over Rs 10 billion during the last five years in the district with many of them already completed. He said it was the PML-N that always carried out massive development at a huge scale and that was the difference between those who delivered and who made hollow claims.

He said it was people’s belief that only the PML-N could bring progress to Pakistan and make it an economic power. The prime minister recalled that the government had inherited gas crisis but now uninterrupted supply was being made to all consumers and around 1.6 million gas connections had been given, purely on merit.

Regarding Minister Rana Tanvir, the prime minister said the only reason behind his success throughout his 35-year political career was that he always remained loyal to his party through thick and thin.

He told the gathering that the parliament had passed a bill on Thursday for merging Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in what ,he said, the locals from Fata were comparing it with the independence of Pakistan in 1947.

Referring to the 100-day plan of action announced by the PTI, the prime minister said those who could do nothing during last 1500 days were now announcing 100-day plan. He hoped that people from Sheikhupura would elect the PML-N in next election considering as the only rightful party of their vote.

It was Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N that made Pakistan a nuclear power some 20 years ago, he added. On the other hand, Abbasi will inaugurate the Multan-Shujabad Section of Sukkur-Multan Motorway (M-5) and the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Bridge over River Indus connecting N-5 with N-55 today (Saturday).

The Sukkur-Multan Motorway is part of Karachi-Lahore Motorway Project and is being constructed under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It is 394 km long and will cost around Rs 294 billion.

Work on the motorway was started in 2016 and is scheduled to complete by 2019. It is a six-lane access controlled facility, taking off from Sukkur and terminating at Multan, after passing through several major cities including Ghotki, Rahim Yar Khan, Sadiqabad and Bahawalpur.

The alignment traverses through the provinces of Sindh and Punjab. The project includes construction of several bridges, interchanges, culverts, underpasses and other allied structures as well as service areas.

The main objective of the project is to provide an access controlled high speed motorway for efficient and safe transportation of passengers and goods to and from the major industrial and economic hubs of the country. The motorway will contribute towards the development of an environment, whereby the existing and future traffic shall be catered to an adequate level of service, which in turn will result in significant benefits to the national economy.

The fuel consumption of vehicles will significantly reduce, due to the increased traffic capacity and easing of traffic pressure on alternative routes, like the National Highways N-5 and N-55. The motorway will reduce distance between major cities.

The improved road facility will also reduce the losses due to traffic accidents and shall ameliorate the traffic safety on the existing relevant road network. The bridge over River Ravi provides an important communication link across the Indus River between the cities of Zahirpur on GT Road (N-5) and Indus Highway (N-55) via Mithankot.

There is no river crossing on Indus up to Ghazighat which is approximately 50 km downstream of Taunsa Barrage. Dera Ghazi Khan is located approximately 120 km upstream of this bridge.

The vehicular traffic has to make long detours to reach the other side of the river. The bridge will greatly facilitate the traffic from Karachi, Kashmore etc on the Western side and Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore on the Eastern side, being a short route from Karachi to Lahore.

It was an age old demand of the people and will tremendously boost the economic growth of areas on both sides of the river besides reducing distance and time of travel. The bridge is 1.2 km long with 12.2 m width. Approach roads including 14 km towards Zahirpur on N-5 and 16 km towards Mithankot and N-55 are also constructed.