Pakistan: Punjab CM-designate Maryam Nawaz vows to bring “new era” under her tenure

Lahore [Pakistan]: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior vice president Maryam Nawaz is slated to become the first woman Chief Minister of Punjab in the country’s history, and has pledged to live up to people’s expectations, Geo News reported.

She was nominated as the party’s candidate for the coveted slot after her victory in both the national and provincial assembly seats — NA-119 and PP-159, respectively in the February 8 general elections.

Addressing a meeting in Lahore on Wednesday, the Punjab CM-hopeful thanked the people for giving her party “the mandate” and making it the single largest party in the 2024 polls.

“Your trust and support are my real assets,” she said.

The PML-N leader also said that she wants to dedicate the honour of becoming the “first woman CM” to every mother, daughter and sister of the country, as reported by Geo News.

She also revealed a five-year game plan, saying that under her tenure as CM, a “new era will usher in Punjab.”

“I have worked on the Safe Punjab Program. We will have to expand the Safe City Project to all cities. To improve the environment of police stations for women, we will be making model women police stations,” Maryam said.

She added that her government would also address the problem of traffic in Lahore. Lamenting that there’s no IT city across the country, she vowed to establish five of them across the province.

The CM-hopeful also pledged to work on the health and education sectors and the provision of employment and housing to the people of the province.

“We will make one hundred thousand houses for the poor, provide interest-free loans to the youth and merit-based scholarships to young students to study abroad,” she added.

If voted into power, Maryam will become the first woman to be elected as a chief minister in Pakistan’s seven-decade-plus history. She will take over the province with a population of more than 127 million people, more than half of Pakistan’s population.

Maryam, who holds the portfolios of PML-N’s senior vice-president and chief organiser, said it was a “huge honour” for her to be nominated as Punjab’s first chief minister and dedicated it to the “daughters, mothers, sisters, and reserved seats’ women,” Geo News reported.