Sheikh Rasheed terms Bilawal's train march stupidity

NOWSHERA: Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Sunday said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has been granted permission to lead a train march from Karachi to Larkana for the 40^th death anniversary of PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Speaking to the media here, he regretted that he was not allowed to stage such a march via train in the past.

Had the PPP chief been against corruption, he would have emerged as national hero but he was now ‘zero’ , the minister said, suggesting that the people holding the march should do some retrospection. He termed the PPP leader’s march stupidity.

“The people who brought trains to a halt should look at themselves,”Rasheed said, adding the trains set on fire in the wake of the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007 were being repaired.

Renewing his pledge to dole out 10, 000 jobs, he said an agreement had been reached with China under which 900 out of 1,000 jobs would be given to Pakistani citizens. He hoped that a deal with regard to ML-1 project would be finalised soon under which double rail tracks would be laid from Karachi to Peshawar.

He said he would bring about a revolution in Pakistan Railways under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, expressing the optimism to achieve a revenue target of Rs10 billion.

He announced he would launch a shuttle service in Nowshera from April 30 given that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister resolves minor issues concerning the railways in the province. He said rail tracks laid during the colonial era would be restored.