Gandapur challenges Maryam to debate
In what seemed to be a bragging contest, the provincial governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) touted their "great" performances while belittling each other's work, with the chief minister of the latter challenging the chief minister of the former to a debate.
K-P Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who belongs to the PTI, on Thursday announced distributing free laptops among students in the K-P, a move initiated by various PML-N led governments. He said his government would provide the same percentage of students with laptops as the Punjab government.
In return, he urged the Punjab chief minister, Maryam Nawaz, to offer free health cards to citizens, just as the K-P government had done.
"Our government provided the entire population with the Sehat Card Plus and is now offering life insurance. The Punjab government should also extend these facilities to its entire population," he said.
Gandapur claimed that despite challenging circumstances, his government had increased revenue by 55%, urging Punjab to raise its revenue from 12% to 55% as well.
He said the K-P government has a surplus of Rs176 billion in its treasury and is the only province to meet the International Monetary Fund's (MF) target. He pointed out that Punjab was given a target of a Rs300 billion surplus by the IMF but instead it incurred a Rs146 billion deficit.
The CM said his government is facilitating the weddings of 4,000 underprivileged girls, providing each with Rs200,000. He challenged Punjab's performance, claiming it was not even 1% of K-P's, and declared his willingness to debate the issue.
Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari stated that while it is often said that governments struggle to perform in their first year, the PML-N has raised the flag of success in both the federal and Punjab governments within just one year.
"The Punjab government has already delivered remarkable results, sending a clear message to all provinces to compete in the politics of public service," she said during a press conference at the DGPR, accompanied by Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq.
According to Bukhari, when someone has nothing substantial to say, he resorts to insults. "
The public no longer wants abusive rhetoric, chaos, arson, or attacks on the federation. Other provinces should also initiate projects similar to those in Punjab."
She criticized so-called journalists and analysts who once claimed that PML-N had lost relevance but now dismiss the party's rallies as unsuccessful. Bukhari said under the leadership of Maryam Nawaz, Punjab's first year in office has been marked by historic achievements and exemplary public service.
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