Punjab cabinet says thanks to CM

Lahore: A special meeting of Punjab cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif at Darbar Hall Civil Secretariat today. Provincial Ministers, Advisors, Special Assistants, Chief Secretary, Chairman P&D, IG Police and Secretaries of all departments attended the meeting. Rich tributes were paid to the Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on his five years’ excellent performance.

During the cabinet meeting, a resolution was adopted unanimously on laying network of development projects in the province and rendering record services for the masses by Chief Minister. Senior Advisor Sirdar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa presented the resolution in which it was said that Punjab cabinet is thankful to Almighty Allah for completing the tenure of the government and serving the masses in an efficient manner. He said that such excellent projects were executed for the welfare and development of the masses in the province during five years upon which any government can take pride. He said that on the basis of such example and quality of developmental progress, Punjab province has a unique and distinguished place in the opinion of public circles and international institutions, s compared to the federal government and other provinces. He said that after the report of Transparency International, now Aghiyaar have been forced to acknowledge the hard work, good governance and transparency of Shahbaz Sharif.

Members of the Punjab cabinet paid rich tributes to the leadership of chief minister Punjab from the core of hearts and believed that achievement of such goals of development in the province was not possible without extraordinary vision, untiring efforts and exemplary spirit of service. We considered ourselves fortunate that we had an opportunity to serve the masses of the largest province of the country headed by such a Quaid and leader who called himself Khadim of the people instead of chief minister and declared the service of the people as his top most priority.

We are individually thankful to Shahbaz Sharif that he provided us guidance through his acts and deeds and presented practical example of austerity and made us realize from this fact that the secret of dignity of human and success lies in the help of downtrodden and deprived segments of the society and service to ailing humanity. We are thankful to the people of province who expressed their confidence in Punjab government during this period and pray for the better and prosperous future of the people. He said that if Allah Almighty gave an opportunity to serve the people of Pakistan, the journey of public service will continue.

Addressing the special meeting of Punjab Cabinet, the Chief Minister highlighted the welfare and development projects executed during the five years and said that we are thankful to Almighty Allah that we achieved such successes in the development of the province and service to the people. He said that new chapters of commitment and determination have been written during flood or dengue in the province. He said that revolutionary reforms have been introduced in education, health and other sectors. He said that transparency and merit has become the hallmark of Punjab government.

The Chief Minister said that he and his entire team is satisfied after five years that we have served the people selflessly and we are proud to say that we are successful in the court of people. He said that declaring of metro bus project, ujala programme and laptop scheme transparent by Transparency International is a matter of pride not only for Punjab but for the entire country. He said that no government presented itself for accountability voluntarily during 65 years history of the country whereas we asked Transparency International to judge the transparency. He said that this culture should be spread to every nook and corner of the province. He said that in a country where corruption is rampant, maintaining transparency is a big achievement. He said that on the other hand, Transparency International wrote letter to different personalities to provide proof of corruption but they could not present any proof in support of their baseless allegations. He said that there is a need of collective effort for ensuring supremacy of law, elimination of corruption and improving law and order situating. He said that there still remains a long journey.

He said that the journey of progress and prosperity of the nation is not easy. He said that the destination is difficult but he reiterated that this goal can be achieved through commitment and determination and expressed the hope that time will certainly come when we will achieve this target. He said that the way merit and transparency was promoted in Punjab is a matter of honour for the entire Pakistan. He said that we can commit mistakes and there can be shortcomings but our intention is good, that is why, after five years we satisfied that we have done our best. The Chief Minister said that a new social contract of public service has been promoted with hard work, honesty and sincerity. He said that political team of PML-N and government officials have jointly carried this work and has changed the course of history in Punjab. He said that if Allah Almighty gave an opportunity, we will change the condition of the country. Shahbaz Sharif said that when he came to power the affairs in Punjab were worst whether it be Lahore-Kasur Road or Bank of Punjab or Chiniot road or any other projects, there were graveyards of corruption everywhere. National resources were looted ruthlessly but we changed the graveyards of corruption into minarets of development.

He said that his political colleagues and bureaucracy has performed their duties with sense of responsibility during last five years and this partnership of honesty, sincerity, hard work and devotion is unprecedented and such partnership is utmost essential for resolving the problems of country and the nation. Shahbaz Sharif said that if feelings of any one were hurt due to his attitude, he apologies for it as all human beings commit mistakes and move forward by learning from mistakes. He said that there is a need of further correcting the matters of thana culture and land revenue whereas an effective mechanism should also be adopted for providing justice to the people as the societies cannot survive without justice. He said that Punjab government has taken unprecedented steps for the welfare of the people and provided relief to them which have become an example for the entire country.

The Chief Minister said that there is no dearth of talent in Pakistan but there is a need of further polishing it. He said that we are satisfied with our performance and people will judge our performance. He said that still a lot has to be done for the prosperity of people and development of the country. He said although this journey is long and difficult yet we have taken an exemplary step towards this direction. He reiterated that the journey of development started in Punjab will be spread throughout the country. He said that due to solid policies the economy of province has improved. The Chief Minister thanked members of Punjab cabinet, advisors, special assistants, Chief Secretary Punjab, IG Police, heads of departments, commissioners and staff of Chief Minister’s Secretariat who were with him like a team.

Earlier, Chief Secretary Punjab while addressing said that they got guidance from the visionary leadership of Shahbaz Sharif and completed the journey of development of the province. He said that we are lucky that we had a vibrant, active and hard working head like Shahbaz Sharif. Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanullah said that if Pakistan had a visionary leader like Shahbaz Sharif 60 years ago, the condition of the nation would not be the same. He said that the process of change of approach started by Shahbaz Sharif will continue and the country would be taken forward. Punjab cabinet gave approval to a number of steps including purchase of buses for providing transport facilities. Later, members of Punjab cabinet and government officials were photographed with the Chief Minister.