NOWSHERA, Nov 16: Federal Minister for Railways Shamim Haider has said that work is in full swing to lay a double track from Karachi to Peshawar while a similar track from Lodhran to Khanewal will be completed by June 2006. He was speaking at a ceremony held at the Pakistan Locomotive Factory in Risalpur on Wednesday to hand over a 3,000-horsepower locomotive engine to the railways.

The engine has been completed with the technical cooperation of China.

He said the government had saved the biggest locomotive factory of Asia from collapse and signed many pacts with China, Japan and Germany to put the railways system on modern lines.

“Today, we are able to hand over 15th engine of 3,000-horsepower to the railways,” he said, adding that the engines made in the Risalpur factory were better than those of many other countries. “Pakistani engineers are doing a tremendous job and have manufactured compatible engines,” he added.

Mr Haider said that the formation of a forward bloc in the PML was not a matter for concern, describing suggestions of a looming change in the present setup as part of disinformation campaign.

The present assemblies would complete their term, he declared.

The ceremony was scheduled for Nov 17 for which the factory management had issued invitation cards to government functionaries as well as elected representatives, but it was held a day earlier, sources said.

Only the factory staff and railway officials were present at the event, with no high-ups. Even district nazim of Nawshera Daud Khan Khattak had no information about the change of date.