RAWALPINDI: Punjab Chief Minister Mohammad Hamza Shehbaz Sharif is likely to visit Rawalpindi on Saturday (today).

Meanwhile, police and the district administration have begun cleaning police stations, lock-ups, records and emergency wards of government hospitals.

According to sources, the newly-elected chief minister is expected to pay a surprise visit to one of the police stations, a government hospital and may be a metro bus station.

As the news of the CM’s visit circulated, cleanliness of police stations, especially the lock-ups, reporting rooms and front desks got underway.

A police official said the condition of police stations was very poor with its office tables, chairs and cupboards broken or half-broken. Moreover, one glass of water was used by 20 people in the police offices.

The situation at the metro bus stations is not different as the accelerators have not been functioning properly and condition of water coolers was not satisfactory, he added.

Likewise, there are hundreds of public complaints against government hospitals and their staff and majority of patients prefer visiting private doctors.

The CM is expected to meet patients and also inquire from the medical superintendents about functioning of the equipment and facilities being provided to patients.

He is expected to ask the regional police officer (RPO) and the city police officer (CPO) about the crime situation and the chief traffic officer (CTO) about any improvement in the traffic.

A senior police official said the CM will not be taken to any such place where negligence of the district administration, police or Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) was exposed. He will be shown only those places where the situation was satisfactory.

A citizen said the situation would have been different had the city’s administration worked hard and observed challenges suffered by the public.

A senior official, however, said the confirmation of the CM’s visit was yet to be received. He is expected to visit the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) and the urology hospital.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2022