Shehbaz blames PTI for delay in Orange Line train completion

Punjab CM criticises PTI for not coming up with any major development project in K-P

Terming the Supreme Court’s decision allowing the Punjab government to complete the Orange Line Train a victory for his administration, Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said political rivals Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were to be blamed for the delays in the project’s execution.

The apex court had dismissed the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision to halt the construction of the mass transit project near 11 heritage sites in Lahore earlier in the day.

Speaking to reporters in the Punjab capital, CM Shehbaz said the project was not just for the province but for Pakistan and its opponents had bitten the dust [after today’s SC verdict], Express News reported.

The top court has conditionally allowed the Punjab government to carry on with the $1.2 billion project and has directed forming a committee, led by a retired judge, to oversee the impact of the project on the affected heritage sites.

Imran Khan – the PTI chief – and his team hindered the execution of the project for 22 months, firstly 14 months at LHC followed by an eight-month long delay at the top court, said Shehbaz.

“They [PTI] are criminals of the public and the masses will never forgive them for their crimes,” he was quoted as saying.

“Our political opponents have taken revenge from the masses… they travel in big lavish cars and buy aircraft by looting public money and have no knowledge of Pakistan’s goals," he said.

Accusing the PTI of ‘cowardly’ attacking the public welfare project, Shehbaz said the ‘dirty politics’ had hurt the country in the past as well.

“Despite the passage of four-and-a-half years, no development project for the masses has surfaced in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa… how will these people [PTI-led provincial government] face the voters in 2018 elections,” he wondered.