Mardan rally: Nawaz promises peace if voted to power

Blames incumbent rulers for rise in poverty, insecurity and inflation.

MARDAN:

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif lashed out at the current government on Friday and said that his party had concrete solutions for the innumerable problems faced by Pakistanis every day.

He expressed these views while addressing a large public rally at the railway ground.

During the gathering, he promised that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), if voted into power, would take every possible step to restore peace and to overcome the prevailing power crisis, all within two short years. Complete solutions have logically been spelled out in the party’s election manifesto, he said.

Nawaz said it is the policies of incumbent rulers that have smeared Pakistan with blots of increasing poverty, inflation and insecurity.

“The rulers have sold the sovereignty of the country to the United States,” he said. “Each and every citizen’s future is uncertain [right now] but our government will take all steps for ensuring protection and establishing peace.”



Amongst the promises made were the generation of an additional 25,000 megawatts of electricity, increased availability of basic health care facilities, the expansion of the motorway network to Karachi and Gwadar, and the launch of a bullet-train across the country, one that will reduce travel time between Peshawar and Karachi to merely seven hours.

Additionally, Nawaz said his government would take into consideration all provinces, not just his own. PML-N would initiate developmental projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa similar to the ones in Punjab, such as the laptop scheme, the establishment of Danish schools for underprivileged children, and adequate allocation for the education and agriculture sectors.

“If we are voted into power, we will run the metro bus service in all the provinces,” he said.

The PML-N chief also expressed concern over the image of the country in the eyes of international community. According to him, Pakistan today stands isolated. Resultantly, if elected, his party will take steps to resolve the Kashmir issue and remain involved in Afghanistan’s peace negotiations.

Moreover, he highlighted the Rs0.7 billion the Punjab government spent for the construction of a kidney hospital in Swat. Furthermore, it is now providing significant assistance to establish a burns centre in Mardan.

At the rally, he was flanked by PML-N’s Senior Vice President Amir Muqam, Senior Vice President Khawaja Mohammad Khan Hoti and Provincial President Pir Sabir Shah.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2013.