LAHORE: The 56 public companies, Metro bus and Orange Line train projects have put Punjab under a heavy debt of Rs2,000 billion, says the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid.

“Shahbaz Sharif is responsible for burdening Punjab under a huge debt of Rs2,000bn because of 56 companies, ‘jangla bus’ and orange train projects, while we had left a surplus budget of Rs100bn for the government in Punjab in 2007,” PML-Q senior leader and former deputy prime minister Pervaiz Elahi said.

Presiding over a meeting of Lahore division office-bearers of his party in connection with upcoming elections here on Sunday, Mr Elahi said the election symbol of the party was “tractor” which was also a symbol of progress of farmers and Pakistan.

“If farmers are prosperous, Pakistan will be prosperous and this progress is only linked with Muslim League,”he said.

He said during its tenure (2002-07) the PML-Q controlled loadshedding and price hike. “I challenge Mr Sharif to compare his tenure with mine in this regard,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2018