LAHORE: Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly, Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, says the Punjab government’s Suthra Punjab and model carts projects have been hit by allegations of corruption.

In a video message sent on Sunday, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader alleged the Suthra Punjab programme had been outsourced and the contracts awarded to the cronies of the chief minister. He said the local government employees had become daily wagers and there were great discrepancies as some were getting Rs2,600 as daily wage, while others were getting only Rs1,200 per day.

“The drop scene of Suthra Punjab scheme worth billions of rupees happened so fast,” he said, and alleged that the chief minister was being blamed for the corruption in the scheme.

He said the videos were circulating on social media showing local governments’ workers protesting in Chakwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot and other districts in the province, demanding they should be placed under the control of their department.

PTI to stage rally in support of Jaffar Express martyrs

Mr Bhachar said the chief minister’s so-called good governance was exposed by the medicines shortage and deaths caused by injections at Mayo Hospital and now in Suthra Punjab programme.

He said the 60-page advertisements would not help the chief minister maintain her respect in the public. He alleged that her cronies were looting the masses and eventually she would be blamed for the corruption.

He condemned the alleged abductions and arrests of the PTI workers, including Farhan Chishti, as well as party’s social media activists Usman Mahmood and Qadeer Amjad.

He claimed that the chief minister’s days were numbered and she would soon be ousted.

PTI rally: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Punjab, senior vice-president Akmal Khan Bari has announced holding a rally to express solidarity with the army men and the martyrs of Jaffar Express from GPO Chowk to Punjab Assembly on Tuesday (tomorrow).

In a video message on Sunday, Mr Bari stated it was the worst kind of terrorism as not only people of Pakistan but Pakistan itself was attacked.

Mr Bari urged the Punjab government not to create hindrance in the rally as it would be brought out to express solidarity with the martyrs. He said the rally would be participated in by the PTI workers, lawyers and people from the civil society.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2025