Speaking at the ceremony, PM Sharif said the Multan Metro bus project had been completed in minimum possible time and work would be started soon on the remaining part of the project.He said contrary to the suggestions of many, the government decided to set the Multan Metro bus fare at Rs20, because the same is charged in Lahore and Islamabad.
The premier iterated that the project will greatly benefit the underprivileged of Multan, saying "i don't understand how they travelled" before.
In an indirect reference to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, the PM said governments of other provinces promised to build a naya Pakistan but their cities had no "Metro bus or efficient transport"."Where is naya Pakistan?... If someone wants to see naya Pakistan being built, they should come to Multan."
The premier earlier took a ceremonial ride on one of the buses to formally kick off the service, which will initially operate 35 buses.He said that the revenue received from the service was much lesser than the amount spent on it to make it functional. He said that one should understand the difficulties the poor was undergoing in Multan.
During his speech, he promised more development for Multan as well as all over Pakistan. "We will make Multan a more beautiful city Insha Allah," he said to cheering supporters.
Nawaz took aim at his opponents, PTI, when he claimed that those who were promising a new Pakistan had failed to deliver.
"Where is the Naya Pakistan that was being promised? I am unable to see it," said the Prime Minister. "Those who cannot understand progress are standing in its way and trying their best to be an obstacle in development," he added.
He said that those who were hurling abuses and allegations at him should first take a look at themselves.
Nawaz also spoke about other motorways and projects in the pipeline, promising the people greater development in the near future.
"This is for the very first time that all four provinces of Pakistan are being joined together," he said. "There is a network of roads being set up in Balochistan while power projects are being installed in Hub and Karachi's Port Qasim," he added.
He promised a health scheme for the impoverished people of Pakistan, claiming that the scheme would be made available to the whole country. Nawaz assured the people that once the health scheme was launched, it would ensure that parents would not have to withdraw their children from schools or sell off their assets to ensure their children are provided adequate medical treatment. The Prime Minister took a test ride of the bus along with Punjab’s Governor Rafiq Rajwana and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif from Chongi No.9 to Bahauddin Zekria University.During the ride, the Prime Minister was given a briefing about the bus service.The event was attended by Minister for Food Security Sikandar Bosan, Mayor of Multan Naveed ul Haq Arain, Chairman District Council Dewan Abbas Bukhari, parliamentarians and diplomats.The Metro Bus Project in Multan is the country’s third and South Punjab’s first mass transit system.It included 21 bus stations spread over an 18.5km route, which are expected to facilitate 97,000 commuters daily, he said.
