RAWALPINDI: Special Assistant to Chief Minister and spokesperson for the Punjab government Hassan Khawar on Saturday said the opposition was confused, wandering aimlessly and making futile efforts for a shelter.

He said the PPP is in power in Sindh but it did not cooperate with the federal government due to which Insaf Health Card facility could not be introduced in the province.

He said due to such attitude of the PPP, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s political party had been confined to Larkana only.

Talking to mediapersons at the commissioner’s office, Mr Khawar said the PTI government started work on Rawalpindi Ring Road as no work had been done on the project for many years.

He said Leh Expressway was another mega project and land acquisition process for it was underway. Work on the ring road would be started soon. When corruption allegations came to light in the project, Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice and initiated action against those involved in it.

Mr Khawar said the Punjab government had presented a development package of Rs740 billion and Rawalpindi was also getting its share from it.

He said progress had also been made on Pappen, Dadhocha and Ghabir dam projects in Rawalpindi along with Jalalpur irrigation project in Jhelum worth Rs32.7 billion.

He said with the help of Insaf Health Card, three million families in Rawalpindi division will get free treatment at 56 public and private hospitals with 7,000 beds.

He said steps were being taken to prevent recurrence of tragedies like Murree and establishment of Kohsar Authority was part of the efforts.

He said an impartial inquiry was held into the Murree tragedy and 15 senior officers were removed from their posts.

He said that a vehicle management system was being introduced in Murree. Rescue 1122 service would be provided with snow scooters and bikes and there would be a modern system for informing tourists about weather conditions for which the World Bank had provided assistance.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2022