Minister dismisses railway privatisation talk as ‘nonsense’

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed dismissed on Saturday rumours that the government is going to privatise the railway.

“The railway is not being privatised. Those talking about it are talking nonsense,” he stated in clear terms while speaking at a press conference.

The minister said there has been no increase in the railway’s expenses since he took the reins of the ministry and added scrap worth Rs1 billion was sold in one year.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate a new train service, Sir Syed Express, on May 15. He said 1800-kilometer-long double rail track would be laid and that railway crossings along the track would be removed.

Rasheed lamented that influential people controlled the department over the past 30 years.

About the ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said an agreement would be reached with the Fund in a day or two.

The minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan has convened a meeting on Monday evening to discuss a tax amnesty scheme and hopped that former finance minister Asad Umar would soon be part of the federal cabinet.

About the PML-N rally to give Nawaz Sharif a warm send-off upon his return to Kot Lakhpat Jail on expiry of his bail on April 6, he said his iftar dinner drew five times more people than those who attended the rally.

Shaikh Rashid said efforts are being made to implement the apex court’s decision regarding removal of encroachments on the Karachi Circular Railway track within 15 days. He said the KCR can be revived through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor funding.