Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday exhorted the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to come to its "senses and abandon its agitational politics", warning that it would severely harm the country's economic growth and international standing.
Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kashmir Chowk Underpass in Islamabad, the prime minister urged the PTI to call off its long march, saying that dialogue could only take place if the party ended its protests.
"I still ask them to come to their senses. End your long marches and sit-ins. Once you end them, we will certainly sit down with you and talk so that Pakistan moves forward with mutual hard work, honesty, and integrity. This is the desire of the nation, the voice of every Pakistani," the prime minister told the ceremony.
Shehbaz said the PTI had again resorted to the politics of sit-ins and long marches despite the government's sincere efforts to engage in meaningful negotiations. He warned that protests would disrupt exports, manufacturing and imports.
He said a joint committee comprising representatives from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had held talks with the opposition, but the process stalled after the PTI demanded last-minute changes to the finalised draft.
"Their sole objective was to sabotage the dialogue," he continued. "As a result of the politics of sit-ins and long marches, the primary target will be your economy. If your labourer or your engineer fails to reach the factory, the manufacturing site, or their office on time, whose loss is it? It is the loss of this country."
The prime minister told the audience that the government had successfully restored macroeconomic stability and was striving for growth through collective teamwork, with positive indicators reflected in rising exports, remittances and industrial production.
He cautioned that undermining these hard-won achievements would amount to hostility towards the state. "We will not allow this to happen. The law will take its course. Protecting the lives and property of the people is our responsibility, and we will ensure this by all means," he said.
Earlier, the prime minister performed the groundbreaking of the underpass, which is being constructed at a cost of Rs1.4 billion to ease traffic flow between Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The project features four slip roads. At present, the intersection handles 107,000 vehicles and faces congestion during peak hours.
The ceremony was attended by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, Chairman of the Capital Development Authority Sohail Ashraf and others.
In his speech, Shehbaz appreciated Naqvi and his team for setting the target of completing the Kashmir Chowk project within a month. As the intersection is known as Kashmir Chowk, Shehbaz said, the milestone would one day reach Srinagar when the Kashmiri people achieved their inalienable right to freedom.
On the occasion, Naqvi said the project was part of the prime minister's vision to transform and beautify Islamabad ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State and Government Summit in Islamabad next year.
He noted that upon completion of the Kashmir Chowk and Expressway service road projects, travel time between the twin cities would be reduced from the current 30 minutes to just 16 to 18 minutes. He said Minister of State Talal Chaudhry was personally overseeing two key initiatives.
Highlighting environmental and recreational schemes, Naqvi mentioned that F-9 Park was being upgraded along the lines of London's Hyde Park. Additionally, a safari park, projected to be Asia's largest, along with another park matching the size of F-9, would be developed.
"By the time we leave office, we will make Islamabad three times greener than it was," he said. He also announced that the complete digitisation of land records would be finalised by the end of this year. Naqvi said the elected representatives were working tirelessly for the welfare of the people.
(WITH INPUT FROM APP)
