Noor Khan Bakhrani Tangwani
Respected, Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, we are very much proud of you that your Excellency! always believed in the service of the masses. Even as the Leader of House we always found you striving hard to serve the masses round the clock. It would be a matter of immense pleasure for us if your Majesty address our long standing issue and redress our legitimate demand regarding restoration of the service of Khushal Khan Khatak Express train. Your, Excellency! knows very well that the service of Khushal Khan Khatak Express train plying in between Karachi and Peshawar through Jacobabad-Kashmore and Dera Ghazi Khan route has been suspended for the last two and a half years. Thousands of poor passengers were deprived of facility of a cheaper, safer and very comfortable journey of train.It is pertinent to mention here, that even today the journey by a train is not only considered cheaper or safer but also the most comfortable one through out the world. Up to late nineties when there were plying very limited number of vehicular public transport on the roads, the journey by train was very useful and interesting means of transportation for passengers specially for poor ones. The rich or the poor also preferred to travel by train to go from one city to another. The timings, service and facilities of railway system were highly appreciable and praise worthy. On daily basis hundreds of thousand passengers with their families liked to travel by trains to move from one destination to another and enjoyed their safe train journeys to a great deal. In past all the govt employees, teachers, doctors, army Jawans, Police personnel and students always used train service on discounted and cheaper fare from one part of the country to another. The timings and service of Pakistani Trains were so good that people make long queues to buy tickets and go on long journeys by Pakistani trains from one railway station to another. Honourable, Prime Minister! How misfortune! it is to share with your kind honour that during the period of lock down of pandemic COVID-19, the service of Khushal Khan Khatak Express train was suspended due to fear of wide spread of deadly Corona Virus. But till today, the masses are deprived of the cheapest, comfortable and safe train facility. Anyway, now when the vaccination drive has already been successfully completed across the country. By the grace of Allah SWT it became possible that the disease was brought under control by collective efforts of govt and respectable doctors. Likewise, now the life has already turned to normalcy after speedy vaccination campaign in the country. On the other-hand the social and business activities are on usual and public transport is back on the roads as usual as it was before pandemic period. Right now, it’s need of the hour that for the best interest of hundreds of thousand poor passengers the service of Khushal Khan Khatak Express train should be restarted without any further delay to provide the masses a cheaper and comfortable facility of traveling by train. No way, the stoppage of Khushal Khatak Express train is logical and reasoning. However, once again from Karachi to Peshawar public demands from you as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, to ponder over this genuine problem of the masses and direct the Federal Minister Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique and Athar Riaz Divisional Superintendent of Railways Sukkur for restoration of the service of Khushal Khan Khatak Express train without any further delay to facilitate the masses who have been deprived of traveling by train from Karachi to Peshawar via Jacobabad-Kashmore, and Dera Ghazi Khan since Covid-19 period.
