LAHORE: Expresses gratitude and humility, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif said that employment and business opportunities are expanding through the Asaan Karobar Card and various finance schemes, resulting in the launch of new businesses and provision of more than 109,000 jobs across the province. The CM said that she is thankful to Almighty for enabling the government to fulfil key promises made to the people. She says the commitment to provide shelter to the homeless is being fulfilled, with nearly 150,000 houses under construction. She adds that the promise to introduce the world’s most modern electric buses for citizens of Punjab has materialised, with 1,100 electric buses already operational and 1,500 more to be added. The Chief Minister states that the pledge to deliver healthcare at people’s doorsteps is being realised, as over 20 million patients have benefited from field hospitals and Clinics on Wheels. Work has begun on metro bus projects in Faisalabad and Gujranwala, fulfilling the promise of expanding mass transit to two major cities. Maryam Nawaz says the launch of what she describes as the world’s largest solid waste management project in Punjab has created employment for around 150,000 people while ensuring cleanliness in rural areas for the first time. She notes that one lakh laptops have been distributed among students and that thousands of deserving students are receiving Honhaar scholarships. She adds that elderly patients no longer have to stand in queues for medicines, as patients suffering from cancer, cardiac diseases, hepatitis and tuberculosis are receiving two months’ medicines at home. She says 3,000 basic health units have been upgraded into health clinics and that cardiac treatment facilities are now available at the district level, with cath labs established in district hospitals where angiography and angioplasty services have commenced. More than 10,000 children with congenital heart diseases have undergone surgeries, eliminating the waiting list. The chief minister says law and order has improved significantly, with the establishment of CCD and PAFD, a reduction of up to 70 per cent in crime, and the complete clearance of riverine (katcha) areas for the first time. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026