Abbasi’s ‘jihad’ against horse-trading

ISAKHEL: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Saturday called for ‘jihad’ against political horse trading and categorically declared to resist and shame those who would get Senate membership using their fortune. “Senate election is due after a month. I question as how a party or an individual with no MPA in a provincial assembly can become senator. There is only one method of plundering which we have to reject. This can never be in country’s interest. We have to launch jihad against it,” the prime minister said while addressing a public gathering after launching work on gas supply project to Isakhel and surrounding areas. The prime minister said that he would personally resist and shame those who would get Senate membership by buying the votes. “(We) will shame them. (We) will present them before the public court,” he said, opining that the one winning Senate membership by using the riches could neither represent the people nor could serve the Senate. The situation can be improved only though public pressure, he said, and also sought public endorsement by asking the gathering to raise their hands in support. The prime minister said gas supply project would cost Rs 2.3 billion involving government’s direct funding of Rs 1.2 billion and Rs 1.06 billion indirect funding. It would benefit a population of 180,000 people and comprise transmission line of 58 kilometers stretch and distribution network of around 406 kilometers. The prime minister, who wore a traditional white turban of Mianwali, said it was the biggest ever gas project of Punjab province and vowed to expand the facility across the whole NA-71 constituency. He said as the PML-N government inherited ban on new gas connections owing to shortage but now all the consumers were getting uninterrupted gas supply and long queues at CNG stations had also ended. Abbasi said the people were getting fruit of voting PML-N into government in forms of vast network of motorways and numerous power and gas projects. He said the motorway from Hassan Abdal to Dera Ismail Khan was about to complete that would change the fate of locals by begetting employment opportunities. “This is a gift from Nawaz Sharif and PML-N. This is fruit of your decision in 2013 elections,” he remarked. Abbasi claimed that the PML-N had carried out development projects in the current tenure even more than those carried in last 65 years. Even the odds like sit-ins and conspiracies could not hamper the course of development, he added. He was confident that the PML-N would again win 2018 elections to serve the masses for another five years. He reiterated that the journey of development and democracy would go hand in hand but it were the people who had to decide either to vote those who delivered or those who merely made hollow claims. He also spoke high of the performance of Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and drew a comparison with that of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government. The prime minister assured the workers of Agritech Fertilizer that the plant would get gas supply by next month. He said the federal government had unprecedentedly allocated 100 mmcfd gas to KP for a power plant but the provincial government could not accomplish the task. Even, the provincial government did not adhere to the federal government’s suggestion of diverting only 28mmcfd gas to Agritech plant till their plant becomes operational. However, he assured that the Agritech plant would get gas supply as the government could not play with the fate of poor labourers. As requested by local MNA Obaidullah Shadi Khel and other parliamentarians, the prime minister agreed that the interchanges to link Basal and Kallur Kot would be included in the next PSDP. He also announced the establishment of a medical college in the area besides assuring the implementation of policy of gas supply within the five kilometers radius of gas producing area. The prime minister said the industrial zone being set up by Punjab government would uplift the area and assured the employees of water schemes to take up the issue of their delayed salaries to Punjab chief minister. Published in Daily Times, February 11th 2018.