PM directs faster ML-1 upgrade

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to expedite work on the upgradation of Main Line-1 (ML-1) and implement corporate-style reforms in Pakistan Railways to make it strong and economically self-sufficient.

The prime minister, chairing a review meeting on reforms in Pakistan Railways here, said that ML-1 should be constructed on a commercial basis by utilising the encroached railway land worth billions of rupees.

He appreciated the efforts of the joint teams of the National Accountability Bureau and the Ministry of Railways, under the chairmanship of the NAB Chairman, regarding the identification and retrieval of encroached land belonging to Pakistan Railways.

He said that the upgradation of ML-1 was vital to uplift Pakistan Railways, provide better travel facilities to passengers, and increase freight transport, stressing the need to harness the actual commercial potential existing in railway properties.

The prime minister said that valuable railway land should be used effectively for commercial purposes to support the development of the national economy and railways.

He said that introducing corporate-style reforms in the railways was among the government's priorities to make it strong and economically self-sufficient.

The prime minister approved utilising bank funding through various commercial projects on railway land for the construction of ML-1.

The meeting was informed that the upgradation of the 1,726-kilometre-long ML-1 has been divided into four major sections, comprising Karachi-Rohri, Rohri-Multan, Multan-Lahore, and Lahore-Peshawar sections.

SMEs

The prime minister directed the relevant authorities to remove obstacles hindering the provision of financial resources to the housing, agriculture, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sectors, saying that the lending system should be made more effective.

Chairing a review meeting regarding access to finance, the prime minister also directed to make the SME Portal operational by the end of November to facilitate the provision of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.

The SME Portal will enable real-time monitoring of the latest status of loans being provided by banks, as well as business facilities including Letters of Credit (LCs).

Ahsan Iqbal

The prime minister directed Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal to contact Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch as the government seeks to advance dialogue with the party.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office, Ahsan Iqbal contacted Liaquat Baloch on the prime minister's special instructions and conveyed Shehbaz Sharif's message to the JI leadership.

Earlier a telephone conversation was held between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the JI Emir, during which the premier requested him to withdraw the party's call for a protest.

Following the prime minister's intervention, the JI leadership postponed the protest call.