islamabad - Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb has inaugurated the Azadi train here on Saturday. Special Azadi train has started its countrywide journey from Islamabad as part of 70th Independence anniversary celebrations.
Talking to media men on occasion after the inaugural ceremony of Azadi Train, she said ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had launched terrorism-free Pakistan vision in 2013 whereas terrorism incidents have been reduced by 90 per cent in last four years. She said that incumbent government along with security institutions had launched the anti-terrorism operations across the country. She hoped new PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will continue the incomplete development journey of Nawaz Sharif and fulfil it before next general election. She said China Pakistan Economic Corridor is gift of Nawaz Sharof for the people of the country.
She said Nawaz Sharif is the most popular leader of the country which has been proved in last three days GT road march. She said thousands of PML-N workers travelled to Lahore from Islamabad along with their leader. She asked Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chief Imran Khan to get ready for facing music in the next general election.
She said that it was the responsibility of all political parties to play their role for strengthening democracy in the country. She admired the services of former premier Benazir Bhutto for democracy and said Pakistan People’s Party will play role for supremacy of law constitution.
Earlier addressing the inaugural ceremony of Azadi Train, she said 70 years of independence of Pakistan have completed as this Azadi train itself fully highlighting Pakistan’s history whereas the CPEC model also kept in Azadi train and therefore, public should take their children to station and show Azadi train so they could know the history. She said that international community recognized Pakistan as emerging economic power. She said that Pakistan Railways was in worst situation before 2013, but Minister Railway Khawaja Saad Rafique made it a profitable department now. She said a project regarding up-gradation of Pakistan Railways will be launched soon. The Azadi train consists of five art galleries, illustrated with pictures of people who sacrificed their lives during the independence movement, while six floats are also part of the train. Sacrifices of Pakistan Armed Forces and Indian aggression in occupied Kashmir have also been displayed at the picture galleries. The floats highlight the culture of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.
According to the schedule, the train leaves Islamabad at 12:30pm today and will reach Peshawar at 4:30pm on the same day.
It will restart its journey at 10:30am on the next day from Peshawar and arrive at Rawalpindi at 7:15pm, where it will stay for two nights. The train will again set off at 9:15am on August 15 for the next destination, Lahore, where it will reach at 10pm.
It will stay at Lahore station for two nights and leave for Multan at 9am on August 17. It will arrive at Multan at 11:30pm and after a night’s stay, start its journey at 9am and reach Khanpur at 7:19pm on the same day. It will conclude its journey in Karachi at 6pm on Aug 25.