SAHIWAL: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claiming Punjab is entering the era of artificial intelligence (AI) while the province remains in the “Stone Age.”
Addressing a laptop distribution ceremony for students in Sahiwal, Maryam Nawaz said those who claimed to have politically educated the public had instead destroyed people’s lives. She maintained that nobody had ended PTI’s government, alleging that the party had brought its own government to an end.
Maryam Nawaz said it was the first long march that ended with the fall of its own government. She questioned how one province could launch an attack against another province or the federal government, adding that the protest had ultimately undermined PTI’s own government.
She said people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would now see what development meant, while emphasising that she had entered public service with a commitment to serving people.
The chief minister credited former prime minister Nawaz Sharif with building an extensive motorway network across the country. She said officials who had recently arrived from Karachi had praised Punjab’s government departments for their focus on public service, adding that visitors from other provinces appreciated Punjab’s performance.
Maryam Nawaz announced that 3,000 electric buses would operate across Punjab and said the service fare remained Rs20. She added that electric buses would be introduced in all tehsils of the province.
She said her government had involved young people in nearly every development project. The chief minister added that instalments for electric scooters provided to students had been set at Rs3,000 to ensure the payments did not become a financial burden.
Highlighting the province’s technological initiatives, Maryam Nawaz said AI laboratories were being established in Punjab, describing the province as entering the AI era while contrasting its progress with conditions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
She also discussed reforms in higher education, saying that when she assumed office, around 80 per cent of universities had no vice chancellors. She claimed that vice chancellors had now been appointed on merit at every university and stressed that she did not accept recommendations or favouritism, even from her own family.
The chief minister said the Punjab government was taking public services directly to citizens rather than waiting for them to approach government offices. She added that her mission was to ensure every resident received essential facilities at their doorstep, including medicines delivered directly to their homes.
