Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) President Mian Shahbaz Sharif Tuesday said the government of national consensus should be formed after next polls as no single party could steer the country out of crises. Speaking to the editors of different newspapers and senior journalists at a local hotel here, Shahbaz Sharif pledged to resolve the three main issues of Karachi - water, public transport and solid waste management - in the next five-year constitutional term, if elected to power.
Dwelling on the issues plaguing the port city, Shehbaz said since extortion and targeted killings had almost vanished from Karachi, it was time to provide potable water and jobs to the citizens besides removing garbage. He vowed to transform Karachi into a city better than Lahore and undertake Punjab-like developments in Sindh.
He said his government will make the city South Asia's most progressive port city in next 10 years. The former Punjab CM lambasted the Sindh government for not completing the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit System project despite Rs19 billion grant given by the federal government. On the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, Shahbaz said the award formula for disbursement of funds is very difficult to amend.
He said the Punjab government had saved some RS 680 billion in different uplift projects due to its prudent financial management. Expressing concern over looming threat of water scarcity, Shahbaz said PML-N will build Bhasha Dam along with other small dams and there was no alternative to Bhasha Dam, he maintained. "Construction of Kalabagh Dam is out of question as it is a serious threat to national integrity," Shahbaz added.
He said PML-N's Miftah Ismail will contest from NA-244, while Salman Khan will contest from NA-247 in Karachi. He said the country could only proceed given free and fair elections are held. "Our performance should be judged at provincial and federal level keeping in view our last government," he added.