KARACHI: Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique on Saturday said that all issues pertaining to the revival of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) had been resolved and the long-awaited public transport project was now on the “right track”.

Talking to reporters during a visit to Karachi City Station, he said that he had personally met Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah multiple times and his last meeting with the minister was held on Friday to discuss the KCR.

“I must say that Mr Shah has shown great interest in the project and with mutual understanding on all issues, the KCR is now heading in the right direction for the first time,” he said, adding that there was no longer any difference of opinion between the two sides on the subject.

“There are more projects associated with Karachi that would benefit people in all four provinces of the country, including development of Karachi-Peshawar mainline,” said Mr Rafique.

By the third quarter of the year 2018, he said, development work would be initiated on Karachi-Peshawar mainline — an important project of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The railways minister said that the project would take time to get completed but once functional, it would serve the country’s railway traffic for almost a century.

Mr Rafique did not miss the opportunity to share his political thoughts and criticised the leaders of the opposition parties without naming them.

“The political developments are happening at a staggering pace and we see a new phenomenon in politics every other day. I only suggest humbly that all these [developments] should end before the general elections as the country cannot afford any new experiment,” he said, adding that it was no longer a matter of politics but about the country’s stability.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2017