In the backdrop of the recent Supreme Court’s judgment on the Orange Line Train, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday tweeted that Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif had “conveniently forgotten to mention Supreme Court restrictions and criticism of Orange Line project in the judgment on the issue.”
Imran added that the chief minister had especially forgotten the scathing critique on how the environment and preservation of heritage sites were ignored and how these must be taken into consideration.
On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed the decision of the Lahore High Court halting work on selected sites of the Orange Line Metro Train project. Although the apex court has allowed the Punjab government to go ahead with the project at the same speed, the bench has set 31 conditions to ensure the project's transparency.
In a series of tweets, Khan questioned how project worth Rs 200 billion was undertaken without a proper feasibility study.
The PTI chairman also claimed that the Sharifs are interested in showcasing expensive projects for election campaigns.
Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday visited the Orange Line Metro Train project site to have an overview of the work, a day after the Supreme Court allowed the provincial government to continue construction work on the project.
Shehbaz said that the project will provide people with improved transportation services and the delay will be compensated for by hard work and commitment.
On Friday while talking to media the chief minister blamed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf for the 22-month delay caused in the construction of the project.
"The PTI had submitted an application to the Supreme Court. Then, as hidden enemies strike, they did the same in the Lahore High Court. The revenge they have taken is not from me. They have taken revenge from the poor people of the city".
