PPP protests against metro train

LAHORE

Pakistan People's Party Lahore, civil society and local residents staged a protest at Jain Mandir against the PML-N government for demolishing houses, businesses and damaging the heritage of Lahore during the construction of the Orange Line.The protest was led by PPP Lahore President Samina Khalid Ghurki and Secretary Information PPP Lahore Faisal Mir and attended by a large number of women and children carrying placards chanted anti-goverment slogans.

President PPP Lahore Samina Khalid Ghurki on the occasion said that the government was not only demolishing houses and businesses without following the laws of the land, but also damaging the historical sites of Lahore.

She said that in 2006, the interest rate on the original loan for an underground train was 0.3 percent, and Nawaz Sharif government took a new loan at a hefty interest rate of 3 percent to get billions in kickbacks. The Orange Line will cause a loss of Rs16 billion every year to the national exchequer in the form of subsidies. She said that the Punjab government should stop acting like Israeli government who demolished houses of Palestinians at two hours notice with the help of police force.

Secretary Information PPP Lahore Faisal Mir said that until today, PPP was the only political party standing between the Orange Line and the victims of this project. He said that PPP had been standing with helpless Lahorites on this issue from day one, and had held a number of protests in Lahore under the instructions of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Now, he said, all the other political parties were trying to do Noora Kushti on orange line. He flayed Imran Khan saying, 'if you can stage Dharna to become prime minister, why you never called a Dharna for poor Lahorites.' He said that Imran Khan always cried about collateral damage from drone attacks. His low profile on collateral damage to Lahore by Orange Train proves his match fixing with PML-N.

Opposition leader in Punjab Assembly and senior PTI stalwart Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed had to face an embarrassing situation when he reached Jain Mandir and tried to join protest without receiving any invitation from the PPP Lahore chapter, which had organised the protest against Metro Orange Train. During the speech of Faisal Mir, opposition leader Mian Mehmood-ur-Rashid from PTI showed up in PPP protest but he was asked by the PPP Lahore Secretary Information to leave the protest at once. Not only this, Faisal Mir on the occasion accused Mehmood-ur-Rashid of having a ‘Noora Kushti’ (fake encounter) with PML-N as he was Opposition leader while this project was approved. The PPP Jialas on the occasion also chanted ‘Go Imran Go’ slogans and Mehmood-ur-Rasheed had to leave the spot.

After Mehmood-ur-Rashid had left, Faisal Mir said that PPP didn’t need any helping hand from PTI to save Lahore.

He announced that if Orange Line was not declared underground within 10 days by the Punjab government, PPP would stage a sit-in in front of Punjab Assembly and also halt the movement of metro bus in Lahore.

Mir asked the Prime Minister what was the difference between financial viability of PIA and the Orange Line. He said that PIA was being privatised because it was getting billions in assistance from the government, and asked how one could justify the Orange Line, as it would also be getting billions in financial assistance from the same regime.

Dr Zarrar Yusaf, another senior PPP stalwart on the occasion appealed Chief Justice of Pakistan and Army Chief to take serious notice of atrocities done to Lahorites and heritage of Lahore by Nawaz Sharif to get billions in kickbacks. He said that only 2 percent of Lahore would be served and 98 percent would be disturbed.

Convener of the "Victim of Orange Line Committee" Ms Nusrat Bano said that they always voted for PML-N but now all of Lahore had turned against the Nawaz government due to its anti-Lahore policies. She pronounced that Lahore would go back to PPP in the 2018 elections because of the Orange Line project. Local leader from Kapoorthala House Ali Rashid said, "Orange Line would be built on our bodies." He accused the rulers of using the Orange Line to collect billions of rupees by rendering poor people homeless and damaging the heritage of Lahore. He said that the stay order from the high court regarding 11 heritage sites and the letter of request from United Nations to stop demolishing houses and heritage was a result of the joint struggle of PPP, civil society and local residents. After one hour of speeches and Dharna, the protesters took out a procession which passed through the proposed Orange Line route in Kapoorthala House, Old Anarkali. Protest was ended by a speech of President PPP Lahore addressed at The Mall.