As countdown begins to Panamagate verdict, PM puts on a brave face

Nawaz fires a broadside at PTI, PPP for their politics of allegations

BHIKKI: Apparently unperturbed by the impending verdict of the Supreme Court in the Panamagate case, the prime minister put on a brave face on Wednesday, firing a broadside at opposition parties. In an oblique reference to the arch-nemesis, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Nawaz Sharif said if they didn’t stop mud-slinging they would risk ending up ‘in oblivion’.

“Newcomers in politics can only lie, stage sit-ins, level baseless allegations and make tall claims,” he said while addressing a gathering after inaugurating a power plant in Bhikki. “Fear Allah and stop politics of allegations, or else you too will go into oblivion.”

Sharif said people would only remember the PML-N for its services to them.

Referring to PTI’s defeat in recent PA-23 (Chakwal-IV) by-elections, the premier said that despite their efforts, the opposition has failed to win the hearts of people. “We had won [this seat] by 8,000 votes in the 2013 elections, but yesterday [Tuesday] we bagged over 22,000 votes, despite the fact that all other political forces were backing the PTI candidate,” he said.



Premier Sharif was also critical of the previous PPP-led government for its ‘failure to address the chronic power crisis’. “Those who are responsible for the current power crisis are threatening us with protests over load-shedding.”

“You must be ashamed of yourself. Had you considered Pakistan your own country and served the nation with honesty and dedication, we would not have faced such a bad situation,” he said while referring to the PPP.

Sharif said Balochistan had been abandoned by previous governments and “now several development projects are nearing fruition in the province”. He regretted that the previous governments had never bothered to undertake any development project in the impoverished province.

Sharif said the federal government was pleased to undertake several development projects in Karachi and Sindh, despite the fact that it was a provincial responsibility.



The premier said there was no such tendency in the country to complete such mega projects in a short span of 18 months. “Operationalisation of the Bhikki power plant in 18 months is a new chapter in the country’s history of progress and prosperity,” he added.

The power plant will add 717 megawatts of electricity to the national grid for now. Its generation capacity will be increased to 1,180 megawatts when it becomes fully operational by the end of 2018. “It’s difficult to build a house in 18 months but we have managed to set up a power plant,” Sharif added.

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on the occasion that power outages in the country would come to an end by the end of the current year.

The Bhikki power plant will generate electricity at a rate of Rs7.37 per unit, making it the cheapest project in the country to generate electricity through gas. Its transparent tendering feature will also help save Rs50 billion. It is estimated that the Bhikki power plant, because of its low cost and efficient plant machinery, will save around Rs250 billion over a period of 30 years.

The plant has one of the most efficient and state-of-the-art gas powered turbines that produce electricity without wastage, while being environmentally friendly at the same time. It is among the priority projects earmarked by the government to reduce electricity shortfall in the country.