LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday said rule of law should be accepted by everyone because the supremacy of Constitution and law were a hallmark of civilised societies.He said whether it’s NAB or any other institution, justice and accountability should be held across-the-board and if it wasn’t the case then the same might not be termed as justice or accountability. “We have saved Rs 70 billion in the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project. It is a prerogative of the NAB to dig out corruption but it should also speak up about this nation’s billions of rupees saved by us,” said the chief minister.“The NAB may not certify us but it should pay tribute to the people of Punjab who have chosen a government that has broken the 70-year deadlock and conducted G2G tendering,” he added. He was talking to media men after the inauguration of six-storey Surgical Tower at Mayo Hospital, which contains 16 operation theatres and a 100-bed burn unit as well as CT scan, MRI and ultrasound machines.The Surgical Tower, the largest in public sector, is equipped with a total of 385 beds and has been completed at a cost of Rs 2.66 billion, while saving of an amount of Rs 260 million. Replying to a question, the chief minister said the company gave the minimum bid of $2.1 billion for the OLMT project and the task should have been assigned to the successful bidder according to the PPRA rules. “But we talked with them and cost of the project was further minimised from $2.1 billion to $1.47 billion. In this way, Rs 70 billion were saved,” he added. “There is no example of such a huge saving by anybody in the nation’s history,” Shahbaz noted.To another question, the chief minister said Imran Niazi levelled a baseless allegation against him with regard to Chinese company Yabaite in the Multan Metro Bus project. “I request the NAB chairman to tell the reality of this claim to the nation. If I am a culprit then I should be barred from the elections. If I am not a criminal then the one who levelled the allegation should be held accountable,” he added.He said the project had been completed by the Punjab government with its own resources. He said Mr Niazi made tall claims about improving healthcare facilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but had done nothing practically. “He has ruined Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and no new hospital is built there. The two hospitals working for the last two decades have not been upgraded as well,” he noted.Shahbaz, in a lighter mood, said only 12 days remained of his government and he had to inaugurate 12 more hospitals.He praised Punjab Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir, Health Secretary Health Najam Shah, chief secretary, King Edward Medical University VC and others for executing the project. He also announced a prize of Rs 1 million for Dr Ibrar Ashraf and his team and recommended medal for him.
05-19-2018, 05:35 AM
It isn?t accountability if not across-the-board: Shahbaz
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