JHELUM: Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday announced that the Nawaz Sharif School of Eminence in Jhelum will become operational on December 15.

She also announced the launch of Green Buses in Dina, Sohawa and Pind Dadan Khan in January. She made the announcements while addressing a ceremony held to distribute Honhaar Scholarships and laptops among students in Jhelum.

The chief minister said billions of rupees worth of development projects were being executed, adding that she had not embezzled even a single penny of public money.

“I swear I will not spare any minister if evidence of corruption emerges against them. Those who have objections should explain why they are sitting as ministers. Why don’t they resign and go home?” she asked.

She said those who had earned notoriety for corruption and bribery were still sitting outside the country. “I am not claiming that corruption has been completely eliminated. But when I come to know about corruption in Punjab, I pursue the matter relentlessly. Is there no corruption in other provinces? The people who looted public money and indulged in corruption during 13 to 14 years of rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are now being exposed.”

She said she was speaking about Punjab, while other provinces were answerable to their own people. Every penny in Punjab was being spent on public welfare and development, she added.

“We will recover the looted money from those who have betrayed public trust.” The chief minister said her government believed in performance rather than rhetoric. The PML-N repeatedly returned to power because of its public service, she added.

“Popularity is reflected in public support. People vote for service, not political narratives.”

Referring to the Lillah-Jhelum Road project, she said some people would now claim ownership of the initiative. “If it was your project, why did you not complete it during your four-year government? They are good at talking but fail to deliver.”

She said her government faced criticism whenever it undertook development work, but remained committed to fulfilling the aspirations of young people. “Let children dream; Maryam Nawaz will work day and night to turn their dreams into reality.”

Addressing female students, she urged them to move forward confidently and not allow anyone to tell them that certain professions or achievements were beyond their reach.

She said more than 100,000 scooters were being provided to students across Punjab, adding that recipients would also receive proper training. Students were being provided free travel facilities on Green Buses across the province.

The chief minister said 300 Nawaz Sharif Schools of Eminence were being established throughout Punjab. Referring to the school in Attock, she said a private grammar school and a government-run Nawaz Sharif School of Eminence were located side by side, but the government school offered much better facilities. She challenged critics to identify a public-sector school outside Punjab that matched the standard of the Nawaz Sharif Schools of Eminence.

The schools featured air-conditioned classrooms, modern laboratories and highly qualified faculty, facilities that were not even available at some private schools charging Rs100,000 in fees. She said 50,000 schools across Punjab were providing education to millions of children. “Education is the best investment because every child is an ambassador of Pakistan.”

The chief minister said her government had broken the longstanding tradition of restricting development projects to major cities. She had spent entire days in Sahiwal, Attock and Mandi Bahauddin and would do the same in Jhelum. Young people were previously misled through narratives, but today they could see development taking place for themselves, she added. “The Green Buses operating in Lahore and Rawalpindi are the same as those running in Khushab, Layyah and Bhakkar. There is no discrimination.”

She said thousands of kilometres of roads had been constructed, with more development work carried out in smaller cities than in Lahore. She said patients were receiving free stents, pacemakers and other cardiac treatment at the Jhelum Cath Lab. “Could anyone have imagined receiving such treatment in Jhelum in the past?”

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2026