LAHORE: Back in saddle after three and a half years, Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafique plans to reevaluate trains outsourced during the PTI rule beside looking into reasons behind delay in the mega ML-I project under CPEC.

Speaking to journalists at the PR’s headquarters on Friday, the minister announced a 30 per cent flat discount in train fares during three Eid holidays.

“We will reevaluate each and every train (outsourced in the PTI regime). The status of the ML-1 is the same as it was in 2018 since the PTI government did nothing on it,” he said.

The minister challenged Sheikh Rashid and Azam Swati, who headed the railways during the PTI government, to have a live debate with him on the PR progress.

He deplored poor or no progress on different projects during the last four years mainly due to National Accountability Bureau’s approach of harassing officials to frame opposition leaders.

Responding to various questions, the minister said Imran Khan should better approach the apex court and present the letter he waived to crowd in a public meeting and accept the court decision.

Saad said since it was a coalition government, every component had the right to lay claim to the president slot. “However, the decision will be taken by the coalition leadership jointly.”

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2022