LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has chided the Punjab government of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for instability in administrative affairs due to frequent reshuffle of bureaucracy and initiating no new mega development project during its three-year rule so far.

PML-N leaders Azma Bokhari and Attaullah Tarar told a press conference here on Thursday that in every sector the Buzdar government was a failure.

“The PTI Punjab government changed six IGs, four chief secretaries and secretaries of a number of departments over five times in its three-year rule, showing its incompetence in running the affairs of the province,” Azma Bokhari said.

“The Punjab government did not release a penny for Rs150 million funds allocated for shuhada (martyrs). Similarly, it did not spend 75 per cent amount allocated for transgender persons. It also made ‘suspicious’ expenses worth Rs820m meant for Ramazan bazaars.”

She said in public schools in Punjab over 88,000 slots for teachers had been vacant for the last three years. The Punjab government did nothing to fill them, she said and added the home department and the chief minister’s office had incurred additional expenses worth Rs2bn and over 210m, respectively.

Ms Bokhari further said the Buzdar administration allocated Rs560bn for development for this year compared to the PML-N government’s last budget (2017-18) Rs635bn. For residences of officials in the south Punjab, a sum of Rs2.08bn was spent.

She said the chief minister’s office spent 35pc more on the allocated budget. She said 1,500 jabs of Covid-19 vaccine were stolen from different public sector hospitals in the province.

Bokhari said the Buzdar government had promised to set up 21 universities in the province but it remained a tall claim as no new building for a varsity was built, only some colleges were upgraded as varsities. She said the record of Rs268bn expenses on different projects including the Orange Line train was missing. From the chief minister’s office to the Quran Board illegal recruitments were made, she alleged.

The PML-N lawmaker said the basic job of federal law minister Farogh Nasim and adviser to the premier Shahzad Akbar was to get cases instituted against the Sharif family.

Mr Tarar said the PML-N would move the court against giving the Walton airport on a 90-year lease. He asked Prime Minister Imran Khan not to cause loss to the exchequer by ‘obliging his friends.’

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2021