LAHORE: The chief minister pledges that he will make Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta like Lahore if the PML-N is voted to power in the 2018 elections.

“I will make Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar like Lahore if the people elect PML-N,” Shahbaz Sharif said here on Wednesday.

Shahbaz has recently been declared candidate for the prime minister slot after PML-N President Nawaz Sharif [reportedly] made an announcement to the effect at a meeting held in Lahore last month.

Shahbaz Sharif’s pledge to make Sindh, Balochistan and KP capitals like Lahore reflects his spirit to do so if he becomes the prime minister.

“And if I failed to do so, change my name,” the CM challenged. “And if the PML-N comes into power again, I will also complete the Peshawar metro bus project within a period of one year,” he claimed while speaking to the audience at the inaugural ceremony of Raiwind Tehsil Headquarter Hospital’s extension project (from 60 to 100 beds) here on Wednesday.

Opens Raiwind hospital extension plan; rants at Imran

In October last year, the government had ordered the health department to immediately start work to upgrade the Raiwind THQ hospital after a woman gave birth outside the facility. The woman was [allegedly] denied medical treatment by the staff. Following the incident, the department started work in collaboration with the Indus Hospital under public-private partnership mode.

Mr Sharif warned his political opponents to refrain from deceiving the nation through lies and false allegations, failing which the people would throw them out of politics in the 2018 elections. The CM focused the PTI chief and criticised him for doing nothing in the last four and a half years.

“You did nothing except to malign the political leadership and others during the last four and a half years. You have fooled the people of KP,” he deplored.

Shahbaz Sharif challenged Imran Khan to prove corruption allegations against him in the court and become Punjab’s chief executive.

“You are speaking lies daily. You also levelled baseless allegations of corruption against me. Today, I tell you to prove these allegations and come to my seat and I will quit finally,” the CM said.

He reminded Imran Khan of his promises he had made with the nation during a TV interview after the 2013 elections.

“During the interview, you had promised to build hospitals and schools rather than the metro bus. Now I and the whole nation ask you what you did in the last four and a half years. You neither made hospitals nor schools in KP. You had also pledged to go for power generation but you failed to generate even one kilowatt. You planned to plant one billion trees, but you also failed to do so,” he said.

During the ceremony, the PML-N workers continued to chant slogans and waive hands as a gesture of support in future. The CM off and on stopped them from chanting slogans that were causing disturbance to his speech. Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Health Khwaja Imran Nazir and Dr Abdul Bari Khan (Indus Hospital CEO) also spoke on the occasion and discussed the initiatives taken by the government in the health sector.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2018