Maryam vows ‘new era’ in Punjab

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz, , who is set to become the first woman chief minister of Punjab, on Wednesday vowed a “new era” in Punjab, as she outlined her government’s priorities in Punjab.

“I know I have big shoes to fill,” she said while addressing the parliamentary party in Jati Umrah.

In her address, she acknowledged the difficulty faced by the PML-N in the elections, citing 16 months of tough and often unpopular decisions made by the government. Despite the challenges, she emphasised that the people had given the party a resounding mandate.

The PML-N secured a substantial majority in the provincial assembly, with a notable presence of youth among the elected members, she maintained.

"I welcome all the members to the meeting of the first parliamentary party and congratulate them for reaching the assembly," said Maryam. She expressed gratitude to the people of Punjab for their support during what she described as a difficult election period marked by tough decisions and a barrage of lies and propaganda by the rivals.

Addressing the newly elected members, Maryam pledged to initiate a new era for Punjab, building on the foundations laid by Nawaz Sharif in the 80s and the exemplary service records set by Shehbaz Sharif. She urged the members to collectively work towards setting new standards of public service with the cooperation of everyone involved.

"I humbly say that today there is talk in the media that Maryam has been given the opportunity to become the first woman chief minister of Pakistan and Punjab. It is an honour for the nominated chief minister… it is a great honour, I dedicate this to every mother, daughter, sister, child, all women members of Pakistan and Punjab," she remarked.

Maryam Nawaz also revealed her game plan for the province for the next five years. The CM nominee said the province faces “major challenges” in the health care and education sectors as well as the local government. “There’s also a huge issue of sewage, clean water in rural areas.”

Also read: PML-N holds meeting on Punjab govt today

Maryam told the newly-elected MPAs that they would have to view Punjab’s 297 constituencies as 297 districts in order to ensure development in every lawmaker’s constituency.

“I have worked on the Safe Punjab Programme; we’ll have to expand the Safe City Project to all cities. To improve the environment of police stations for women, we will be making model women police stations,” she said.

She added that her government would also address the problem of traffic in Lahore. Lamenting that there’s no IT city across the country, she vowed to establish five of them across the province.

“We will also deliver marriage, death, and car certificates to people’s homes,” she said, adding that her government would also grant interest-free loans to the youth. “We’ll redesign health cards and ensure treatment at private and public hospitals.”

The CM-hopeful also pledged to work on the health and education sectors and the provision of employment and housing to the people of the province.

"We will made one hundred thousand houses for the poor, provide interest-free loans to the youth and merit-based scholarships to young students to study abroad," she added.