ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb warned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government against making billions kickback from rebranding Shehbaz Sharif’s e-Learning Programme and ‘shamelessly re-launching’ it as PM Imran Khan’s vision.
In a press conference on Sunday at the National Press Club, she said the PTI government had been following a set pattern since day one of its ‘imposition’ on Pakistan.
“This pattern is demonizing projects of development and public welfare set up by PML-N government, shutting them down over baseless allegations, rebranding and re-launching the same as PTI projects,” she said.
She told that right after Eid, the Punjab government was mulling over the launch of E-schooling and E-learning programme in Punjab.
And even before that the ‘e-government’ which only exists on social media, tweeted from Imran’s handle e-library as Imran Khan’s vision, she claimed.
The PML-N secretary information told how advertising companies were called in on first day of Eid and were briefed on this rebranded relaunching and were directed to prepare ad campaigns worth billions of rupees.
She showed how some companies had already submitted the ad campaigns by the title of ‘Reforming Punjab’ which she said was a ridiculous proposition about Usman Buzdar who is not even competent enough to clear Lahore’s trash.
Marriyum Aurangzeb said this would also be against the decision of court which had prohibited any such ad campaign by the government with public money.
But, she said a government that had already blatantly committed contempt of court by prohibiting Shehbaz from traveling to England, did not care about the respect, sanctity or honour of the courts.
She said this e-Learning program was launched by Shehbaz Sharif in 2014 and completed in 2018, under which over one million books were made available online, where resource material was transformed into e-learning material and where e-libraries were set up for 20 districts of Punjab.
She said from nursery to 12th grade all syllabuses had been converted to e-books. This included e-Library, e-Rozgar, e-Internship, e-Smart school, I-pads and laptops provision, technology parks, digital programs, and millions of digitized books, she told.
She said they extort billions on ring-road realignment, extort billions on Orange Train completion, billions on inaugurating roads and motorways already built by Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, and extort billions on electricity projects even after criticising them.
She said the PTI criticises the electricity generation projects of the PML-N but does not shut them down and makes billions on extorting them. The former information minister said PTI is “so shameless and lazy” that they did not even change the 20 districts where Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the e-Libraries.
“Imran Khan’s vision can best be summed up as ‘E-Lying’. He, his cabinet, his rented spokespersons speak tens of blatant lies every single day on E-media and then forget about it. E 10 million jobs, E-5 million houses, E-IMF free economy, E- accountability commission on sugar, flour, medicines, electricity, gas, LNG, ring-road but don’t act on any of it,” she said.
Marriyum said inspite burying the country under Rs14,000 billion debt the PTI government had not laid a single brick of any new scheme and had been ‘shamelessly rebranding and relaunching’ all development and welfare projects started by the PML-N from the Sehat Card to this latest commission minting exercise over already completed E-learning.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021