KARACHI: Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has announced a ‘track access policy’ under which private companies will be able to run their trains on Pakistan Railways’ (PR) tracks after paying for it.
“They may pay to run their engines and coaches on our tracks. Such a project would economically benefit Pakistan Railways to a great extent,” he told a press conference at his camp office here on Monday.
In reply to a question about who’d want to travel by Pakistan Railways with private trains running on its tracks, he said that Pakistan Railways currently ran 138 trains and the tracks were being offered to private entities because they still had space and time for more railroad activity. “Besides, one improves oneself after getting competition,” he said.
The minister said that PR officials were looking to increase freight operations in the country and Karachi would be the base for it. “We want to see door-to-door freight operations,” he said, adding that private tenders would also be floated for the marshaling yard.
Another development for the PR, according to the minister, is introduction of a shuttle train between Karachi and Hyderabad in 2020 on the pattern of the Gujranwala-Lahore shuttle service.
Sheikh Rashid says project will economically benefit Pakistan Railways
Regarding the Karachi Circular Railway, he said the PR had done its bit by creating 38 kilometres of tracks. “The remaining four to five kilometres are to be cleared by the Sindh government whose project this really is,” he pointed out, adding that they had the federal government’s support.
Answering a question about increase in train accidents, he said the CPEC-based Karachi to Peshawar Main Line 1 (ML-1) project would soon bring positive changes in Pakistan Railways. “A new Pakistan is coming up and a new railway track is being laid out,” he said.
Political puns
Going off track then, the minister lambasted opposition leaders over their criticism of the government.
Speaking about the claim of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government is going to end in a month, Sheikh Rashid, who is famous for making political puns, said that the Maulana was in fact talking about the December which would come after three years.
Answering a question about the future of some opposition leaders, he claimed that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz and former president Asif Ali Zardari were disqualified from doing politics. “If Bilawal (Bhutto-Zardari) doesn’t get a plea bargain, he is also going to be disqualified,” he said, adding that “Bilawal would need a plea bargain in order to stay in politics as his name is coming up in the money laundering done by five companies”.
He said the National Accountability Bureau might recover a big amount from Mr Bhutto-Zardari by March next year under a plea bargain deal.
Apparently taunting over the visit of the Sharif brothers and other Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders to the UK, he said that many politicians of the country would celebrate the New Year this time in London.
Answering a question about some politicians who have fallen ill after their arrest and his own experience when he was once taken into custody, Sheikh Rashid claimed that Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari were not real politicians. “They are accidental politicians since many politicians here are created through marriages or through gate number four of the GHQ. They were nurtured at military nurseries. And then they turned around to pick fights with military institutions to fall face down.”
About the recent clash between lawyers and doctors in Lahore, he said that it was a clash between black and white coats in which the people in black coats embarrassed themselves and hurt their and the country’s image.
Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2019
