GILGIT(National Times)- Former prime minister and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday lamented the lack of development in Gilgit-Baltistan, as he made a brief visit to the region ahead of elections scheduled for June 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
General elections in GB are scheduled for Sunday, after a four-month delay<\/a> attributed to harsh winter weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am speaking to you after many years. Isn\u2019t that the case? Perhaps you have forgotten me,\u201d Nawaz said while addressing the public in Gilgit, prompting roaring chants in his support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noting that he was fond of mountains, Nawaz stressed he \u201cwholeheartedly loved\u201d GB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I love the area from my heart, then why would I not love the people from my heart? You live in my heart,\u201d he quipped. The PML-N chief then went on to lament the lack of development in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I saw the condition of the roads after exiting the airport, I cannot even describe it. It hurt me immensely. Where is the Gilgit that I used to know?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy heart cries on why this was allowed, why the money that should have been spent on you all was not done so,\u201d Nawaz remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noting there were \u201cso many potholes\u201d, Nawaz recalled that the PML-N had in the past worked on constructing roads and asked why the project was not extended to Gilgit as originally planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do not want to speak against any party or government, but my heart urges me to ask them that you got the chance to serve this country, then why did you ignore this area?\u201d the ex-premier asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that the PML-N did not seek votes by criticising other parties, but rather based on the work it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe road that I had started was not built up to here, it should have been and then built further till Khunjerab,\u201d he said, highlighting that building the road till Skardu had cost Rs50 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is the right of the people of GB, not a favour that I am doing to you,\u201d he added. The ex-premier highlighted that the PML-N government<\/a> had constructed hospitals, power plants and hydel power plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTell me if any other party has even placed a brick here,\u201d he jibed, with supporters responding in the negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt saddens me that the airport has remained the same as it was in my tenure,\u201d Nawaz said, pointing out that it had not been expanded and the air traffic to the tourist hotspot had not increased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The PML-N president then assured the GB residents that he would hold a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and ask him to expand the airport so that commercial jets could operate there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flaunting the shortened commute time from Gilgit to Skardu, Nawaz said, \u201cWe reduced a nine-hour journey to three hours, saving you six hours, making things easy for your kids and families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former premier lamented, \u201cProjects are launched here but they are never seen completed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He highlighted that there was great potential for generating hydel and solar electricity in the region. Noting load-shedding of over 20 hours in winters and of up to 12 hours in summers, he said, \u201cIt is unacceptable to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nawaz said that regardless of whether the PML-N wins the elections or not, \u201cwe cannot keep you deprived of these things\u201d, vowing to speak to PM Shehbaz about electricity outages in GB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The PML-N supremo said he will urge both PM Shehbaz and his daughter, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, to visit GB, also pledging to visit the region every two to three months if his party is elected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nawaz also mentioned his last ouster during his speech, recalling that he had formed a committee as the prime minister in 2017 on GB\u2019s share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo not complain to me. I am not ready to hear this grievance because this is your fault as well, that why you let a person like me be exiled,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy did I have to leave the country and go abroad? Why were [we] jailed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Terming GB the \u201ccentre\u201d of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Nawaz called for it to be developed further, with electric buses launched and hospitals built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He vowed that the cancer hospital built by the PML-N in GB would be expanded. He also advocated for housing loan schemes for the residents of GB and interest-free loan programmes for youth for their businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The PML-N president also pledged to have a women\u2019s university constructed if his party got the chance to govern the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is exam day for you three days from now,\u201d Nawaz quipped, referring to the polling day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his visit today, Nawaz is also set to meet with party ticket holders contesting the polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Rana Sanaullah, Punjab Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, senators Pervaiz Rasheed and Anusha Rahman, and MPA Kazim Ali Pirzada were accompanying Nawaz, state-run PTV<\/em> said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Kashmir Affairs and GB Amir Muqam, Nawaz\u2019s son-in-law retired captain Mohammad Safdar, PML-N\u2019s former GB chief minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman and other party members welcomed the PML-N supremo upon his arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a post on X earlier in the day, the PML-N said the Election Commission of GB had issued a no-objection certificate allowing Nawaz to visit GB and \u201clead his party\u2019s political campaign for the upcoming general elections\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elected<\/a> as an MNA in the February 2024 general elections, Nawaz makes rare public appearances. However, he serves as the PML-N\u2019s key decision-maker and as a political mentor to CM Maryam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier in April, Nawaz had vowed<\/a> that, if elected in GB, the party would focus on development in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier on Tuesday, senior PML-N leader and former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique addressed a gathering in Skardu, where he emphasised the need to address the issue of GB\u2019s constitutional rights through a \u201ccomprehensive plan\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTill how long will the issue (GB\u2019s constitutional status) remain undecided?\u201d Rafique asked, stressing that while \u201cKashmir was an important issue, but so was the future of the people of GB\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe time has come for the parliament to debate the matter,\u201d he said, adding that it was the collective responsibility of all parties, state institutions and security institutions to take GB forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The PML-N leader further called for an equitable share for GB and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in the NFC Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also said that Nawaz would announce the party\u2019s \u201ccharter\u201d during his GB visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noting the lack of development in the region, Rafique acknowledged that \u201cno government will be able to solve everything in five years\u201d. However, he emphasised, a direction for the future could be determined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe PML-N laid down that foundation in their last tenure,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recalling that the region had seen tenures of three different parties, he called on the people to \u201cvote for whoever did the most work\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeven to eight flights operate from here every day; this can be quadrupled, dams can be made,\u201d Rafique said, outlining potential for \u201csmall viable projects to tackle GB\u2019s electricity issues\u201d as well as improved internet and road connectivity in the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" GILGIT(National Times)- Former prime minister and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday lamented the lack of development in Gilgit-Baltistan, as he made a brief visit to the region ahead of elections scheduled for June 7. General elections in GB are scheduled for Sunday, after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather. \u201cI am speaking to you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>Saad Rafique calls for \u2018comprehensive plan\u2019 for GB\u2019s constitutional status<\/h2>\n\n\n\n