Nawaz Sharif has promised a bullet train to run from Peshawar to Karachi if he returns to power.

The ground reality may not support his claim. A bullet train without sufficient electricity can only be a wild flight of imagination.

The ongoing 12-16 hours’ loadshedding and Rs700 billion of circular debt that has made it next to impossible to foot the bill of thermal units that require virtually import of Rs2 billion worth of fuel each day, makes it a wild-goose chase to even think of a bullet train.

Our leaders have their heads in the clouds and feet on the ground to imagine such issues, making them mission impossible.

The fate of our electric railway engines is a lesson to be learnt which lie as scrap today due to lack of power.

Even the overhead wire and electric poles have been pilfered by thieves and the remaining trains are forced to run on diesel, which is always in short supply.

Our leaders make promises to the public which is suffering from lack of hydel power, which is the only panacea for our power shortages but it is scarcely realised by our leaders.

DR M. YAQOOB BHATTI Lahore

Opinion

Editorial

Islamic banking
Updated 06 Jul, 2026

Islamic banking

THE roadmap for eliminating riba from Pakistan’s financial system from 2028 offers some clarity on how the...
Prison reforms
06 Jul, 2026

Prison reforms

IF nothing else, it was good to see the four provincial chief executives sharing a common platform. The chief...
Preserving Taxila
06 Jul, 2026

Preserving Taxila

TAXILA is far more than a collection of ancient ruins. It is one of South Asia’s greatest archaeological ...
Iran’s resilience
Updated 05 Jul, 2026

Iran’s resilience

THE funeral ceremonies for Iran’s assassinated supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family members, which...
The annual test
05 Jul, 2026

The annual test

PAKISTAN enters another monsoon season with little room for complacency. Last year’s rains claimed more than 1,000...
Dangerous syringes
05 Jul, 2026

Dangerous syringes

INNOCENCE stands overwhelmed by another health emergency. The HIV crisis, beyond surging statistics — over 350,000...