LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that merit should be the norm and not exception in Pakistan.

Shehbaz was addressing an event in Lahore. The event was kept in honour of the students travelling to Turkey to learn the Turkish language.

He further remarked that ?strict action will be taken against people who fail to follow meritocracy.?

About 150,000 students were granted admissions to educational institutes based on merit, he said, adding that in the police department 100% candidates were hired on the basis of merit.

?We have spent billions of rupees on our people. This is an investment in our youth,? he remarked.

Many students have been sent to foreign countries to learn languages and promote cultural exchange, he explained. ?We have sent students to different countries including Britain, South Africa, Singapore and Turkey.?

He claimed that Lahore?s forensic lab is the leading lab of South Asia, adding that competent and talented people are working at the lab. Moreover, a state-of-art drug testing lab has also been formed.

Speaking about the income disparity, he remarked that the poor have no toilets or other basic amenities. The government is working towards to alleviate poverty, he said.

Punjab CM suspends three employees for negligence

Shehbaz Sharif made an unannounced visit to observe functioning of the Kidney Center in Multan

On Wednesday, Shehbaz Sharif had suspended three employees of the Buildings Department for neglecting duties, during his unannounced visit to the Kidney Center in Multan.

"I pointed out some tasks during my last visit in March, which remain incomplete to date," he said.

Sharif ordered an inquiry into the absence of medicines for patients and unavailability of water in the bathrooms of the medical facility.