Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday vowed to continue his protest against loadshedding ‘until it ends’.
He was talking to reporters during his visit to a protest camp set-up at Dring Stadium by his PML-N party against unscheduled loadshedding in the province.
The chief minister said that the situation could be eased to an extent if the federal government released half of the Rs400 billion outstanding payments to the electricity supply companies.
He said that the federal government had never treated loadshedding as a serious issue and had been rejecting proposals made by the Punjab government in this direction.
The chief minister said he will always stand for justice and fair treatment and resist PPP-led federal government’s bad policies. He said President Asif Ali Zardari had been treating Punjab like a step-child. He said the federal government appeared to be no better than a “team of thieves” looting national resources.
He said the PPP government as destroying the country’s image by usurping billions of rupees under the pretext of import of fertilisers. He said a fertiliser bag that was imported for Rs700 was being sold at Rs1,700 in the market.
Replying to the prime minister’s comment in a recent interview that following the 18th Amendment could produce electricity the chief minister said no province could produce electricity without Islamabad’s approval.
Announcements
Earlier, the chief minister was received at the airport by MPA Iqbal Channar and some other MPAs. The chief minister visited the construction site of a 400-bed district headquarters hospital. He said he will not tolerate any delays in the completion of the project. The hospital being constructed at a cost of Rs4.25 billion is scheduled to be inaugurated on August 14.
Sharif also met Health Department and Public Health Engineering Department workers’ delegations and assured them he would resolve their problems.
He said that all his ministers had been directed to meet people in their respective constituencies daily. He said he had also directed them to ensure that all offices opened at 7am.
The chief minister announced that 10,000 police officials, including women police officials, would be recruited next year to strengthen the force. He said female cops would be deputed at all model police stations.
WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM ONLINE
Published In The Express Tribune, June 6th, 2012.
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