Shehbaz Sharif. SCREENGRAB
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) launched their campaign for General Elections 2018 from Karachi with former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif promising to cure all ills faced by the city of lights.
Speaking to an audience of businessmen at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) on Monday, Shehbaz hailed Karachi as the most profit generating city. “Karachi is the biggest port city - it is the financial hub, the nerve of exports yet the political and military governments have failed to give the city its due status.”
Shehbaz flip-flops, file papers in Karachi
The PML-N candidate for Karachi's NA-249 said his party wanted "to contest the poll on performance and will develop entire Sindh at par with Punjab.”
He added that tanker mafia rules in Karachi and citizens are suffering from acute water shortage. “Like Lahore, we will give Karachi mass transit project including Metro Bus and Organe Line.” He pledged to solve Karachi's garbage problem within six months and provide water within three years while claiming that "PML-N will resolve water shortage the way it curbed terrorism and load-shedding”.
The PML-N president explained how allocation in provincial and federal budget can uplift Karachi. He said his party would work with the provincial government to focus on issues plaguing the city including water shortage, sewage and garbage, public transport and infrastructure. “Karachi is the gateway to Pakistan – the country cannot succeed without providing its financial hub infrastructure that attracts investors. Our vision for Pakistan’s economy begins with the city.”
“Water is the next biggest challenge,” he said. “I do not want to make tall claims but we will develop the city’s infrastructure and resolve civic issues.”
Shehbaz said the immediate solution for water shortage was Basha Dam. “The government invested Rs1 billion in the project," he claimed. The former chief executive added that the PML-N would not compromise on its “national unity” about Kalabagh Dam.
Shehbaz Sharif to start election campaign from Karachi
Dwelling further on the topic, the PML-N president said Pakistan should compete with India economically. “We will introduce industrial and financial policies.”
Chiding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for its “politics of sit-ins”, Shehbaz said the Imran Khan-led party derailed democratic dispensation through its demonstrations. “Our agenda is to develop the country while PTI seeks to destablise the economy to appease hidden forces.”
Fearing possible threats of terrorism, Sindh Police has made extra-ordinary security measurements Shehbaz's visit to Baldia Town.
Meanwhile in Lahore, Shehbaz's son and PML-N candidate for NA-124 kicked-off the election campaign in Punjab by inaugurating a central office in his constituency.
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