Where’s the train?

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) of the Orange Line Metro Train project was signed in May 2014. Pakistan obtained the loan of $1.55 billion to finance the project. It is the state of Pakistan which was signatory to it. It means that the loan will be repaid by this country, irrespective of the fact that the previous government which initiated this project is a political adversary of the present government.

The project’s trial run started in March 2018. However, the project remains incomplete even after 2 years. Residents of Lahore had to deal with insane traffic jams and rising pollution when the project was in its initial construction phase. The delay in the project directly affects them. When will successive governments stop creating hurdles in the implementation of the projects that were initiated by previous governments? The debate on whether these projects should be taken up is just political gimmickry.

Malik Tariq Ali

Lahore