SIALKOT: Giant boards bearing the pictures of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stare the passersby down on major roads of Sialkot city.

The prime minister is to visit the city on Aug 22 to inaugurate Lahore-Sialkot-Lahore motorway, which was first planned by then chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the early 2007.

PML-N parliamentarians have displayed welcoming hoarding boards mainly on Sialkot-Sambrial-Wazirabad Road, Sialkot-Daska Road, Sialkot-Pasrur Road, Kutchery Road, Kashmir Road, Paris Road, Jail Road, Defence Road, Circular Road, Shahabpura Road, Khadim Ali Road, Jammu Road and Commissioner Road.

Regardless of the deep emotions of the parliamentarians, Sialkot Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) officials call such boards illegal and threat to public. They say that in the monsoon, windstorms may pull down the boards causing any untoward incident.

Sialkot TMO Muhammad Zafar Queshi told Dawn by telephone that the municipality had issued a no-objection report on these boards; they were not displayed illegally.PML-N parliamentarians have started mobilising the public for the event.

MNA Chaudhry Armaghan Subhani gathered chairmen, vice chairmen and councilors of Sialkot district and said Mr Sharif would inaugurate the groundbreaking of the 89 kilometres motorway near Sambrial. He said Rs53 billion would be spent on the project. The road would be linked to Lahore-Islamabad Motorway near Kala Shah Kaku interchange and to Lahore Ring Road near Mehmood Booti stop.The project would have completed its nine years, had it been executed when then PML-Q government had initiated it in 2007.

The PML-N government in Punjab shelved the project after the 2008 elections.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2016