RAHIM YAR KHAN: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday hit out at opposition parties after inaugurating the Rahim Yar Khan Industrial Estate (RYKIE) about 26 kilometres from here at National Highway.

“People should reject those who are doing the politics of sit-ins so that Pakistan continues its journey towards development,” a press release quoted the chief minister as having said.

He said if the politics of sit-ins continues and the CPEC is wound up, where Pakistan will stand and from where the money will come for projects of US $36 billion. The completion of these projects would rank Pakistan among the developed countries, he said and also pledged that the country would get rid of loadshedding in 2018. All the power projects would be completed in 2017, he reiterated.

Saying that the sons of the prime minister would present themselves before the judicial commission, he stressed that action should be taken against those who had their loans waived and looted the national wealth.

Earlier, Board of Directors chairman Rizwan Khalid Butt said there were 311 industrial plots in 452-acre RYKIE and 100 had already been sold. He said the investors should take benefit of this industrial estate located at the Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan border and it would be connected with the CPEC.

RYKCCI’s Inqalabi Ittehad group head Chaudhry Jehanzeb criticised the project and said the chief minister was befooling the people of southern Punjab because the RYKIE could not be completed in the last five years and there were no facilities here. He said all the development funds were being used in Lahore.

Also, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf activists protested against the chief minister and tried to block traffic but police baton-charged them. Later, police negotiated with former PTI district president Rana Raheel and former district information secretary Qamaruz Zaman Rana who took the protestors away from the national highway and registered their protest.

Similarly, the Peoples Lawyers Wing of Sadiqabad’s Tehsil Bar Council observed strike and protested unavailability of law chambers in courts.

BAHAWALPUR: The chief minister attended a meeting at the Commissioner Office, where he announced the Dolphin police service for Bahawalpur and Safe City Project for Multan.

He expressed satisfaction over the performance of the new police service in Lahore and said its scope would be widened.

Once again pledging to improve the “thana culture”, he said front desks would be established in more than 200 police stations and satellite centres of forensic science laboratories would be set up gradually at division and district levels across the province. He said the police would have to come up to people’s expectations.

Mr Sharif directed the police to take action against violators of loudspeaker ban and hate mongers without discrimination. He sought revival of Citizens-Police Liaison Committees which could help net the criminals. He directed the district administration to hold monthly meetings with the lawmakers.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, CM’s health adviser Salman Rafique, IGP Mushtaq Sukhera, the chief secretary and other functionaries joined the meeting through video link from Lahore and Minister Zakia Shahnawaz participated from Mianwali.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2016