‘Punjab is leading the race for development’: People of AJK have voted for development, prosperity: Azma

LAHORE: Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari said the people of Azad Kashmir had voted for development, innovation, performance and prosperity.

She said the people had expressed confidence in initiatives including the Air Ambulance Service, electric buses, the Suthra Punjab Programme, Nawaz Sharif School of Eminence, laptops, scholarships and the School Meal Programme. She said the Pakistan Peoples Party had nothing to present to the people of Kashmir.

She maintained that Punjab was leading the race for development while Karachi had been left at the mercy of the tanker mafia. She said there was not a single school in Sindh imparting AI education, whereas the pace of development witnessed in South Punjab over the past two years was unprecedented.

She added that Nawaz Sharif had restored peace and lights to Karachi and remarked that if the PPP openly declared it wanted to turn Kashmir into Sindh, “we would accept its claim.”

She further said that those who spoke of national interest were themselves always seeking public offices, while those who made fiery statements in the morning spent the evening issuing clarifications. She advised them to save some of their complaints for the remaining election phases on August 2 and August 10.

While addressing at a press conference at DGPR Lahore, Azma Bokhari said that after listening to Bilawal Bhutto’s speech, she felt as though he was trying to imitate someone else.

She said the people of Azad Kashmir had delivered their verdict through the ballot box and that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s victory in all nine seats of Mirpur Division reflected public confidence in the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and the performance of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

She said the PML-N leadership refrained from using abusive or inappropriate language during the election campaign and instead presented its performance to the people, whereas the PPP, despite ruling Sindh for 18 years, had failed to present any comparable record.

She said PPP leaders regularly visited Punjab to deliver speeches but avoided discussing their party’s performance in Sindh. She maintained that Karachi was still at the mercy of the tanker mafia, lacked an effective public transport system and continued to suffer from poor sanitation and inadequate civic facilities.

She challenged the PPP to present any significant achievement from its 18 years in power. She highlighted that Punjab had expanded its green bus network, completed major road construction and rehabilitation projects, and successfully implemented the Suthra Punjab Programme, the results of which were clearly visible to the public.

The minister said Punjab had established modern institutions such as the Nawaz Sharif School of Eminence, where students were being provided with state-of-the-art facilities and education in emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence. She said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was distributing laptops and scholarships to students and had also launched the School Meal Programme for children, particularly benefiting students in South Punjab.

She added that these initiatives had strengthened public confidence in Punjab’s development model.

Azma Bokhari said the Punjab government had made timely preparations for the monsoon season by providing WASA with modern machinery, improving drainage arrangements and ensuring the swift removal of rainwater. She said the Air Ambulance Service had been introduced as a landmark initiative in the rescue sector, while people in Sindh continued to face shortages of basic public services. She said the pace of development projects completed in South Punjab during the past eighteen months was unmatched and that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had personally visited remote districts to supervise these initiatives.

She said the restoration of peace and electricity in Karachi had also been achieved during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure.

She alleged that the PPP resorted to allegations of election rigging after every defeat, despite the entire election administration being under its own government. She said anyone with objections to the election results should pursue legal remedies instead of engaging in abusive language, baseless allegations and politics of hatred.

Azma Bokhari said those claiming to speak in the national interest should first examine their own political conduct. She remarked that making aggressive statements in the morning and issuing explanations by evening exposed the inconsistency of their position.

She reiterated that the people of Azad Kashmir had voted in favour of development, performance and prosperity and expressed confidence that the same trend would continue in the remaining phases of the elections. She advised that any grievances should be addressed through constitutional and legal channels rather than through irresponsible political rhetoric.

Responding to questions from journalists, Azma Bokhari said the performance of the Punjab government had become a model for other provinces. She said whether it was the Beautification Programme or other public welfare initiatives, provinces across Pakistan were adopting Punjab’s development model.

She said Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab had visited Punjab to study the WASA system, while chief secretaries from other provinces also sought guidance from Punjab’s Chief Secretary on various development initiatives. She added that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had directed officials to extend full cooperation to other provinces without withholding any information.

She said the performance of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz remained the PML-N’s greatest strength and would be the party’s primary asset in the next general elections.

In response to another question, she said only the relevant political leaders could explain what they had intended by their statements. Referring to Bilawal Bhutto’s speech, she said several of his remarks were being interpreted in different ways, but she did not wish to comment on those interpretations. In her view, the speech reflected frustration and disappointment, and perhaps even the speaker himself did not fully realise what he had said.

Responding to another question, Azma Bokhari said any clarification regarding those statements should be sought from PPP leaders, as she was not their spokesperson. She added that while PPP leaders frequently addressed press conferences, they avoided discussing Sindh’s performance. She questioned why, if Sindh’s hospitals were so efficient, patients continued to travel to Punjab for treatment and provincial ministers sought medical care abroad.

Replying to a question regarding the election results, Azma Bokhari said no objections had been raised before the announcement of the results, but allegations of rigging surfaced only after the outcome was declared. She said everything appeared acceptable before the results, and objections were raised only afterwards.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026