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Pakistan

PM Shehbaz lays foundation stone of long-delayed Bab-e-Pakistan project

  • Says billions have been misappropriated in relation to project's construction
Published February 11, 2023

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation stone on Saturday for the Bab-e-Pakistan project and an upgrade to Walton Road in Lahore where the project that has been in the works for over a decade is to be constructed.

Bab-e-Pakistan is meant to be a national monument built on the site of one of the major Muslim refugee camps which operated in the aftermath of the independence of Pakistan.

At the ceremony on Saturday, the PM said: "This place reminds us of the millions of people who migrated here. People braved difficulties and there is no example in history regarding sacrifices rendered by children and women.

This led to the creation of our country. Thousands of migrants stayed at this point in Walton."

He said the project had begun in 1997. “We were supposed to make this venue a place to visit for international and local visitors".

But according to him billions of rupees were misappropriated in relation to the construction of the project, and he asked if the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) "looked into the elements who indulged in corruption in this project?”

He added there are several other projects that were lost to corruption but no action has been taken.

He thanked the National Logistics Cell chairman and expressed hope he would work round the clock to complete the project.

“I request caretaker Punjab CM Mohsin Naqvi to support this project and so will other departments. This is not a 10-15 year delay. This is a 20-25 years delay. I urge everyone to play their role and complete this project collectively.”

The memorial was proposed in 1985 by the late governor Ghulam Jilani Khan. It has been designed by a Lahore-based architect Amjad Mukhtar who is a graduate from the National College of Arts, Lahore. The monument has an area of 117 acres and is meant to comprise a memorial block, library, park, museum, auditorium and art gallery.

PM Shehbaz has been keen on the project for many years. In 2009, when he was chief minister of Punjab, he had lamented over its delay and noted that the Punjab government was promoting a culture of austerity and using indigenous material instead of importing marble worth more than Rs 700 million.

In 2015, also as CM, he had directed officials to take immediate measures for the project's early completion.

He had said at the time that it was a national obligation to promote awareness in the new generation regarding the Pakistan Movement and objectives of the creation of the country.

Comments

Comments are closed.

Maqbool Feb 11, 2023 02:53pm
Will someone kindly point out to the PM, the country is bankrupt and this money being spent on useless cement structures should be paid to the starving people of flood effected people of Sind and Baluchistan or if it’s cement use is soo very important than should be used to rebuild the houses of these poor .
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KhanRA Feb 11, 2023 04:06pm
Hello IMF please give us more money
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Aamir Latif Feb 11, 2023 04:17pm
Any wisdom to construct this project in this time of economic melt down delayed since 28-years and SS couldn't initiate it during his 10 years as CM... GoP and provinces should stop all such new non developmental projects like these. Further, whay the project should have so many structures like library etc which will only gather dust at this far place.... Seems IMF stringent requirements are right as the rulers are by force obliging to implement their T&C's as past and present rulers knows only how to waste money...
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TimeToMovveOn Feb 11, 2023 05:14pm
Are these guys serious? Just yesterday, the IMF left without a deal as the country was unproductively spending money, and now you guys are inaugurating monuments. What is the point of a building this when money could be used more productively? Where are the priorities.
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Rizwan Feb 11, 2023 06:06pm
@ of course no construction project in the world would be without whinny people complaining the money should have gone to this and that instead, and that people are starving, end of the world! Classic! But yeah totally, I agree
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Rizwan Feb 11, 2023 06:13pm
I think this is a great project. People should totally tighten their belt, maybe eat one meal a day, to support this project, and radically cut their expenditures. This way they'll lose weight and appear slim and smart, and Pakistan will get it's national monument. This is a win win situation.
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Anilla jahangir Feb 11, 2023 06:43pm
140000
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Saqlain Feb 11, 2023 07:12pm
The sponsors of this clown must be very guilty of their doings!
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Doc Asad Feb 11, 2023 07:32pm
Not at all necessary project at the moment , but wait the comission is good :D
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Mian M N Shite Feb 11, 2023 07:55pm
@Saqlain, Surely you mean Nawaz Sharif !!!
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KU Feb 11, 2023 09:32pm
The descendants of immigrants would like the PM to spend the money on people who are in economic distress, who have no jobs nor wages to ensure meals for their families, and who cannot afford simple medicines for their health.
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Maqsood Feb 11, 2023 10:01pm
It is not a good idea to spend money on a project when the economy is in bad shape.
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bhaRAT(2) Feb 11, 2023 10:20pm
@Maqbool , Are you blind? the project had begun in freaking 1997
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Rebirth Feb 12, 2023 01:49am
There are monuments for holocausts all over the world and every nation devotes a day to commemorate such tragedies. We faced one in 1947 and it took them 75 years to realize we needed this. We also need to devote a day to those who were slaughtered in the millions.
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