PML(N) supremo Mian Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who are spearheading a campaign to develop Punjab in an all round manner, have challenged the opposition PTI to compete with them in developmental activities. Addressing the ceremony of ‘Apni Chhat Apna Ghar’ held at the Expo Centre on Wednesday, Nawaz said that they (PTI) have made big promises with the KP people but their performance was zero and they protested whenever they got an opportunity. The Chief Minister said the KP people were their brothers and they were welcome to come to Punjab for medical treatment, business, education and other activities, but those who were dreaming to conquer Punjab will be treated strictly.
The remarks of the two leaders are surely politically motivated but they also reflect ground realities as far as policies and programmes of the federal and four provincial governments are concerned. In Punjab, hardly a day passes without launching a fresh initiative for good governance and welfare of the people and the event where Nawaz and Maryam spoke also reflected the accomplishment of another promise on a fast track – financial assistance to the needy people for construction of their homes. Nawaz Sharif rightly pointed out that lofty pledges were made during the tenure of the PTI for building five million homes, hundreds of dams and creating hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities. No doubt, the party launched ambitious schemes for the purpose but regrettably none of the projects witnessed fruition because of the extremely slow implementation process. As against this, Federal and provincial governments, headed by PML(N) in the past as well as now, succeeded in turning promises into practical projects and ensured their speedy implementation. They created world class infrastructure within months and launched numerous schemes in different walks of life to mitigate sufferings of the people and improve their standard of living. The PML (N) head has taken legitimate pride in enumerating his party’s achievements, including the construction of motorways, elimination of load shedding, counter-terrorism efforts, development of nuclear capabilities, and the implementation of the Orange Line metro project. We have repeatedly been emphasizing in these columns that grievances of different political parties, especially with regard to alleged manipulation of electoral results, notwithstanding, the existing arrangement offers ideal opportunity to almost all parties and particularly for three major parties of PML (N), PPP and PTI to try to excel in developmental pursuits. This is because the PML (N) is leading governments at the Centre and in Punjab, PPP in Sindh and Balochistan and the PTI in KP. There is, however, a perception, rightly or wrongly, that the KP Chief Minister spends more time on planning and implementing plans to march on Punjab than concentrating on issues facing people of his province. The province is the focus of terrorist activities and he needs to ensure effective coordination with the law-enforcing agencies and the Pakistan Army for defeating the nefarious designs of the enemy. Elimination of terrorist threat and restoration of complete peace would provide a congenial environment to his Government to deliver as per aspirations of the masses. However, on the contrary, the Chief Minister frequently plans and leads rallies towards Punjab and makes remarks and delivers speeches that amount to disrupting the peaceful environment in the province. No doubt, he has political compulsions to do so but at the same time he can devote attention towards real issues of his province and avoid stoking tension between the provinces. The recent improvements in the economic conditions of the country involved hard work of the Government and sacrifices of the people behind them and the gains must be consolidated for a better future of the country. Protests, if necessary, should be held strictly within the parameters of the law and the Constitution.
