Says she paid Rs27.5m for her UK trip, defending her use of Punjab government’s official aircraft
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif addresses the inauguration ceremony of the Metro Green Electric Bus Service in Multan on Thursday. SCREENGRAB
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Thursday defended her use of an official aircraft to attend a personal event in London, saying she had borne all expenses of the trip and that the plane was not her personal aircraft but belonged to the office of the chief minister.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Metro Green Electric Bus Service in Multan at the Nawaz Sharif Agriculture University, the chief minister also spoke at length about anti-corruption measures, development projects and various initiatives undertaken by her government.
Talking about criticism over the Punjab government’s purchase of an aircraft, she said: “There is a lot of fuss over the Rs9 billion plane, but it is not Maryam Nawaz’s aeroplane; it is the chief minister’s aeroplane.”
“Maryam Nawaz will not take that plane to Raiwind. And you should also know that all four ministers have the facility of this aeroplane, but why is the criticism directed only at Maryam Nawaz?” she said, adding that even before the plane was purchased, she used to rent a plane for travelling.
The chief minister said she had faced heavy criticism for travelling on the government aeroplane to attend her daughter’s graduation ceremony in the UK, but she had paid Rs27.5 million from her own pocket.
The chief minister’s visit to London to attend her daughter’s graduation ceremony triggered criticism on social media over the alleged use of the Punjab government’s recently acquired luxury jet and questions over who would bear the cost of the trip.
She added that she was answerable only to the public and taxpayers, not to any YouTuber or vlogger.
“Maryam Nawaz will never give them a receipt. Who are you to ask me for a receipt?” she said, holding up a mobile phone and saying, “This is the receipt.”
She said she had travelled to Brazil to attend the COP conference, where the “Apna Ghar Scheme” was acknowledged.
“Whether I go to China, Turkey or Azerbaijan, wherever I have gone, I have travelled in this plane. I was not supposed to go to other countries riding a motorcycle. So I only want to say that I will continue to come and go. Thank you very much,” she said.
She said she did not have time to waste as she continued to work while travelling and while in the office.
“I do not wake up at 2pm. I work until midnight, wake up at 8am and come back to work. I do not take holidays,” said Maryam.
Talking about anti-corruption measures in the province, she said she had people arrested from the police, revenue and even the Anti-Corruption Department for taking money from the public.
Read: PA seeks answers over CM’s aircraft use for private visit
“Neither will I commit dishonesty nor will I allow anyone to be dishonest with your money. This is Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s promise. And you know, in the last few days, I have had 600 police officers arrested and dismissed from service because they were involved in corruption,” she said.
She said corruption was prevalent in all four provinces, but such cases were coming to light in Punjab because she was taking action against them.
“Whether it is Suthra Punjab or any other project, I will not allow any corrupt officer to remain here,” she added.
Discussing development projects in the province, the chief minister said even people from the PML-N had told her that she had started more than 100 projects.
“This is what you do in the fourth or fifth year — shift into fourth or fifth gear,” she said, adding that she had replied that she would govern the province in the same way throughout her five-year tenure.
However, she said she had to travel by car or aeroplane for all these projects. Referring to last year’s floods in the province, she said she had also travelled by boat.
Metro bus service
Thanking Multan residents for welcoming her, the chief minister said 60 buses would ply the roads in the first phase of the Metro Green Electric Bus Service, with the number to be increased to 160 in the next few weeks.
The fare would be Rs20, while women, students, senior citizens and differently-abled people would be allowed to travel free, she said.
She highlighted that the buses had ramps to facilitate the movement of differently-abled people onto the buses.
She announced that the project would be expanded to all districts of Punjab.
The buses would have free Wi-Fi, mobile phone charging ports, air conditioning and CCTV connectivity to ensure the security of passengers, she added.
She also announced that the Multan Agriculture Mall had been newly built to support the farming community.
The 180-kilometre Multan-Vehari road, which she described as a “cursed” and “killer road”, had been revamped for Rs35 billion to ensure quicker travel between the two cities, she said, adding that travel time had been cut by half.
“It takes a little over an hour to move from Vehari to Multan,” she said.
“This is just the beginning of progress,” she told Multan residents, adding that another 2.5 years were enough to change the outlook of the South Punjab region.
She said 50,000 kilometres of roads had been built in the province during her tenure.
The chief minister said she had arrived at the inauguration ceremony after inaugurating a cancer hospital in Multan.
She claimed that people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh were arriving at the hospital for treatment.
Highlighting the facility’s quality, she said a PET scan machine worth Rs2.5 billion had been installed at the newly built Multan hospital.
She said the machine was previously available only at the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre (PKLI) in Lahore and was now available for patients in Multan.
“Specialised doctors are being hired for the hospital,” she said.
She said Mayo Hospital Lahore had a machine imported from China to treat cancer patients without surgery.
“So far it has treated over 100 patients with 100% efficiency. Their cancerous tumour was removed without surgery with the help of this machine within an hour of treatment,” she said.
The operational cost per patient was Rs1.6-2.8m, yet the treatment was free for all patients, she said. The Punjab government had earmarked Rs5 billion for the treatment of cancer patients, she added.
She said a second machine of the same type had been installed at the newly built Multan hospital.
Two patients had already received the treatment on Thursday, she said.
“One breast cancer patient got cancer-free today after 45 minutes of machine-led treatment,” she said, adding that another young woman was being treated for the disease as she left the facility. She expressed hope that the 25-year-old patient would walk out cancer-free.
She said she planned to provide cancer treatment facilities in every division before the end of the year.
To maintain safety, she said drills were being conducted in all Punjab hospitals and relevant fire-safety equipment was being provided to prevent any untoward incident.
Electric buses, bikes
“By the end of this financial year, 3,000 electric buses will ply the roads to help citizens commute. The number of buses will be increased to 5,000 in a period of three years,” she said.
“Fifty per cent of people commute without paying fares on these public buses.”
She said the buses were environmentally friendly and would not cause smog.
The chief minister also pledged to distribute 100,000 electric bikes to students of public and private colleges, asking students to register before Oct 4 to avail themselves of the facility.
“So far 800,000 registrations have been received, and 300,000 students have submitted applications to avail the scheme,” she said.
Women would not be required to pay the down payment and would only have to pay Rs3,000 per month to receive the e-bikes. The interest would be borne by the government, she said.
She urged bikers to use helmets for safety and said two-day driving training would be provided free of cost.
“Now women will not be dependent on their families and relatives to teach them driving,” she said.
The chief minister claimed to have provided the best security and safety in the province during her tenure.
She warned those perpetrating violence against women of punitive action.
Maryam said she would not allow those who undermined the honour of women to roam freely in Punjab and praised the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) for containing the threat posed by “nefarious elements” in society.
She paid tribute to slain CTD officers, saying their sacrifice had ensured the safety of the people.
Housing, agriculture and education
Speaking about the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar Programme, she said the scheme had successfully crossed the 200,000-houses threshold in two years.
In five years, she said, she planned to provide at least 500,000 houses. She also said the scheme had received praise from UN-Habitat and had been nominated for a prize for its swift implementation.
The programme also featured a grant of Rs500,000 for roof restructuring and strengthening, she said, adding that billions of rupees had been allocated for it.
She said the initiative would prevent deaths and serious injuries among poor people caused by weather-related roof and structural collapses.
In Punjab, she said, the government was giving five acres of land on a 20-year lease to at least 30,000 people to help lift them out of poverty.
“They also receive a grant of Rs50,000 per acre to ensure provision of livelihood,” she said.
The move had been undertaken to increase agricultural output and provide a sustained livelihood for the farming community, she explained.
She said she expected a bumper wheat crop this year due to the government’s initiatives.
Speaking about the Nawaz Sharif School of Eminence, she said 150 of the 300 schools had been built across Punjab.
Every tehsil would have a separate school for boys and girls, she said, adding that this was only the beginning of the thousands of schools yet to come.
She claimed that a student at one of the Nawaz Sharif Schools of Eminence in Multan had told her that enrolment at the school had increased from 10-12 children to 2,000 due to the provision of better facilities.
The standard of education at the free school matched that of elite schools, she said.
Elaborating on government projects for potable water, Maryam said she had expanded the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) network from five cities to all 40 districts of Punjab.
She said the move had improved service delivery in the province and there was now no need to shift machinery from one district to another for rainwater drainage.
The government had procured machinery worth billions of rupees to ensure maximum service delivery across the province, she said.
The chief minister also vowed to expand the presence of Parks and Horticulture Authorities to all districts of Punjab.
