F.P. Report
LAHORE: Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday took the oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab during a grand but solemn ceremony at the sprawling lawns of the Governor’s House here.
Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur Rehman administered the oath to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif who became the first-ever elected woman chief executive of a province in the country. Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Zaman read the orders of the appointment.
On this historic occasion of a woman taking over reins as Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif was flanked by her father and Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and uncle Prime Minister-designate Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif while she also placed a photo of her late mother Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif in front of her on the occasion. Instead of the traditional Darbar Hall, the oath-taking was held at the lawns of the Governor’s House to make room for more guests to watch their popular leader making history. The ceremony started with recitation of verses from the holy Quran followed by Naat e Rasool e Maqbool Khatam un Nabiyeen Muhammad (P.B.U.H.).
The ceremony was attended by a large number of diplomats, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) leadership, MNAs, MPAs, representatives of the armed forces, government functionaries including the Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Zaman, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Dr. Usman Anwer, lawyers, senior journalists, anchors, and a large number of party workers.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s family including her husband Capt, (Retd) Safdar, son Junaid Safdar, daughters and grand-daughters were present on the occasion. Former Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz Sharif and Salman Shehbaz were also present. The US Consul General in Lahore Kristin Hawkins, Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren, Turkiye Consul General in Lahore Durmus Bastug and Iranian Consul General in Lahore Mehran Movahed were among the distinguished guests.
Conspicuous among the party leaders were Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Talal Chaudhry, Amir Muqam, Attaullah Tarar, Rana Sanaullah Khan, Pervaiz Rasheed, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Ayaz Sadiq, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Rohail Asghar, Khurram Dastgir Khan, and Mian Javed Latif.
Meanwhile, in her first speech on floor of the assembly as chief minister, the newly elected Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz has assured that the doors of CM office and her heart will remain opened for ruling and opposition members round the clock. She thanked Allah Almighty for giving her respect and congratulated the speaker and deputy speaker on assuming their respective offices. “I hope that under your leadership, the House will hold democratic values high,” she stressed.
Maryam Nawaz regretting the absence of the opposition members said she wished they were here. “Being democratic workers, we understand how important it is to compete in politics. We have also faced difficult times when every tide was against us, and cruelty and brutality were inflicted on us. But thank God, we did not leave the field,” she stressed.
She said she wished the opposition members were present to create commotion during her speech. Maryam said, “I am a chief minister for everyone, including those who did not vote for me. The doors of my office and the doors of my heart are always open for the opposition.” She further thanked the members of the allied parties, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), PML-Q and PML-Zia.
The newly elected chief minister also gave her five-year agenda and salient features of which were as under: Vision to make Punjab an economic hub; Focus on solving problems of Lahore and Punjab as first priority; Policies to ease doing business for investors; Activation of price control committees; Launch of Ramazan package named “Nighebaan”; Restarting Ramazan Bazaar model; Revival and upgrading of government school infrastructure and curriculum; Introduction of Punjab’s first air ambulance service; Establishment of at least one Daanish school in every district; Aim for equal quality of education between private and government schools; Implementation of a complete school transport system in Punjab; Plan for state-of-the-art hospitals in every city of Punjab; Provision of free medicines in emergency departments of government hospitals; Collaboration with Rescue 1122 for motorway ambulance service; Establishment of daycare centers at workplaces; Construction of hostels for working women; Reforms for transgender community inclusion; Vision for a digital Punjab with free Wi-Fi in major cities; Resumption of e-library project; Provision of more soft loans for females compared to males, working women hostels; Launch of Metro bus service in divisional headquarters; Focus on reforms for south Punjab; Expansion of Safe City project to 18 more cities in the first phase; Introduction of more model police stations; Establishment of special desks for women in police stations; Initiatives for agricultural reforms; Provision of free livestock for small farmers and businesses; Introduction of electric cars and bikes initiative; Initiative for 100,000 houses under “Apna Ghar Apni Chath” plan; Establishment of more IT parks; Implementation of population scanning for diseases; Relief in utility bills; Launch of new housing schemes. Maryam Nawaz thanked the 125 million people of Punjab who voted her to the assembly and vowed to serve them indiscriminately. “My presence here is an acknowledgment of the services of a political worker who endures hardships,” she remarked, adding that history had been created today, even if she was minused.
“This is an honour for every daughter of Pakistan, as the first woman chief minister of Pakistan is standing before them today. I pray that this continues after me,” she added. “We have reached here after passing through a difficult phase”
The newly elected Punjab Chief Minister insisted that she did not have revenge against anybody in her heart, and said she thanked those who inflicted cruelty and vengeance upon her. “Despite the hardships, I think the opponents have done me a favour by passing me through the hardships for which there is no substitute.” She shed light on the large number of women in the Punjab Assembly, saying her victory was a win for every woman. “This is proof that being a woman can’t be a hindrance to realizing your dreams,” she stressed. She said a visionary leader like Nawaz Sharif has sat on this chair the same seat she has got, and from which he made a lot of progress. A three-time prime minister has sat on this chair, adding that he made Pakistan’s defence impregnable for the times to come.
“After my nomination, Nawaz Sharif sat with me and prepared a five-year plan. The person whom Punjab remembers as Khadim-e-Ala has also been on this chair. Shehbaz Sharif’s abilities, performance, speed are recognized by the whole world.” Maryam acknowledged that most people are being crushed under inflation. “I am not competing with any opponent but the performance of the giants within my party.”
She urged everyone to strengthen her beyond the political divide, saying together everyone could serve the people of Punjab. “I want to say to the opposition, if there are any problems in your constituency, I am there just like I am for the PML-N,” she said, adding that she was not just the chief minister of the PML-N. The chief minister announced that she will start implementation on her manifesto from today and go straight to her office from the assembly. She added that her agenda had been prepared, keeping the issues of the people at the front.
She said her vision included making Punjab an economic hub, adding that were the backbone of the economy who will be provided with facilities that had never been introduced before. She said the government’s job was not to do business, but to make policy and provide a conducive environment for businessmen.
Further laying out her plans for the people of the province, the chief minister said there was a need to improve the curriculum of government schools, adding that her government will launch Punjab’s first air ambulance service. Moreover, every district of Punjab should have at least one Daanish school, Maryam believed, adding that they would restore the educational allowances of the children who worked at brick kilns.
She also said the quality of public school education will be on par with that of private schools. “We will also provide a complete school transport system in the entire province.” She also declared that screening for diseases will be started in the province, adding that when she vacated her office after five years, she wanted a state-of-the-art hospital in every city. She also announced free medicines in all emergency departments of government hospitals from today. The Rescue 1122 service has been asked to launch a motorway ambulance service, while women will get special transport cards, Maryam insisted.
She further said women should get more loans than men and more hostels built for working women. Moreover, she declared that a daycare centre would be built at every workplace. “Women’s harassment is my redline.” Maryam also said that she was working on a special package for transgender persons to bring them into the mainstream, adding that helping the needy who were earning less than Rs60,000 was obligatory. She also said she would pay attention to the sports ministry, which she said was only considered a formality till now.
The CM said a ‘Digital Punjab’ was her vision, and vowed that free Wi-Fi would be provided in big cities, adding that she would resume work on the e-library project. “We will also provide facilities to teach artificial intelligence, Maryam Nawaz.” She said she wanted that after five years, there should be no dilapidated road left in the province. “The Metro Bus service will be launched in all divisional headquarters. No road in Lahore will be without public transport.”
She also vowed that she would pay special attention to south Punjab, which will be given equal opportunities. She believed that they would have to move towards electric vehicles, adding that in the first phase, the Safe City project will be started in 18 more cities. She said she would be personally visiting every police station.
