Minister for giving maximum facilities to railway passengers

LAHORE : Federal Minister for Railways Azam Swati paid a surprise visit to Lahore railway station here on Saturday.

He was accompanied by Additional General Manager Traffic Syed Mazhar Ali Shah, Additional General Manager Infrastructure Arshad Salam Khattak and Divisional Superintendent Tariq Latif besides divisional officers.

The minister reviewed the measures taken for passengers at the station. He directed for increasing number of benches and providing maximum facilities to the passengers at the railway station. He said a plan of action should be drawn up so that only passengers can reach the platform and unauthorised persons can be prevented from entering.

"We are taking steps to free you from the slavery of the contractor and digitise your data, which will be implemented soon," the minister told porters at the station. Sajjad Baig, an architect, Lahore railway station, while briefing the minister, said food courts would be set up at the station for passengers. The minister said revenue of the railway station can be increased.

Their report should be sent to the Ministry of Railways, he said and added no department of the world could function without the application of principle of punishment and retribution therefore good officers would be encouraged and those who were negligent would be dealt with according to law.Meanwhile, Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati has said that international community must hold India accountable for its human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). In his tweet on Saturday, he said that Pakistan would continue to raise voice against oppression and barbarism on innocent Kashmiris by the Indian army and would remain unshakeable in expressing solidarity with its Kashmiri brethren.

To salute the unwavering resolve of Kashmiri people in their valorous struggle for seeking right of self determination, Pakistan Railways had launched a Kashmir Solidarity campaign, he added.

Special posters highlighting legitimate and inalienable rights of Kashmiri people and the Indian atrocities had been displayed in railway stations across the country to reaffirm Pakistan’s firm support to Kashmiri people in their just cause of freedom.