LAHORE: Responding to a jibe political rival Imran Khan had made about how the prime minister had inaugurated the incomplete Karachi-Hyderabad motorway, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the political party that initiated a project had the right to inaugurate it.

“I’m glad to see that [our] hard work is bearing fruit. If we don’t cut the ribbon now, when will we?” the prime minister said during his visit to the Bhikki thermal power plant, some 40km north west from here.

He advised his political opponents to join hands with the government to develop the country instead of hatching conspiracies, and counselled them, “to patiently endure the inauguration of various development projects”.

Speaking about the completion of several power generation and infrastructure development projects, the prime minister said it was time to reap the rewards of hard work.

Political opponents advised to join hands with the government to develop the country instead of hatching conspiracies

The world had accepted that Pakistan would soon become a global economic power, the prime minister said, adding that this would benefit everyone regardless of whether they were in the opposition or the government.

Mr Sharif claimed that his government was better than previous ones which were only interested in getting kickbacks or launching expensive projects.

“The people need to see the difference in our approach...and decide who is actually serving them.”

The premier said his government was also working hard to turn around the national economy. He said when he took the oath of office in 2013 he was aware of the challenges ahead and knew he would have to take difficult decisions to turn back the downward spiral.

“Pakistan was about to be declared a failed state in 2013 when its economy was on the verge of collapse. In a short span of three years, the entire situation has changed.”

He said he had never lied to the nation, nor had he ever made false promises.

The people of Pakistan would bear witness that his promises of ending loadshedding and completing road networks had been fulfilled.

“Our government’s work isn’t limited to building motorways. Instead, we’ve built airports...the Orange Train is being constructed, while work on the Green Line Project is under way in Karachi,” he said.

Earlier, the prime minister was given a briefing about the Global Sustainable Development Goals Programme (2016-18) at the Governor House in Lahore.

The sectoral SDG includes electrification schemes, rehabilitation of electricity distribution infrastructure, gas and natural resources, new schools and upgradation of existing ones, construction of basic health units and regional health centres, upgradation of existing health facilities, construction and rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads.

Mr Sharif stressed that the federal and provincial governments should work together on a matching grant basis to implement the SDGs.

Published in Dawn February 9th, 2017