‘Centre has crippled the economy’

LAHORE:

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Thursday said the federal government had destroyed the economy while PTI chairman Imran Khan was struggling to save Pakistan.

He expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation of lawmakers who called on him at the CM Secretariat.

Speaking to the legislators about the political situation, the chief minister said the nation was standing with Khan and an incompetent government would not be able to stand in front of a sea of people. The CM also ordered release of funds for the Sialkot women university.

Chairing a meeting of MNAs and MPAs of Gujranwala and Sahiwal divisions, he also ordered measures to facilitate the visitors at the shrine of Baba Masood Ganj Shakar in Pakpattan.

The shortage of doctors, teachers and police in both divisions will be met, he assured the elected representatives.

The chief minister announced that a water filtration plant will be installed at Malka Hans, a veterinary university campus will be established in Sahiwal and the Burewala-Chichawatni dual road will be constructed.

He said road, paved street, sewerage and other projects will also be completed in Sahiwal and Gujranwala. The PHA in Sahiwal will be made more effective, he added.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade CEO and Special Economic Zones Authority’s Secretary Jalal Hasan presented the Punjab Investment Catalog, 2022 to the CM.

The chief minister was briefed about steps to encourage foreign investment.

The CM said Punjab was taking the lead in investment and other sectors by providing facilities under one roof.

Increased investment will create employment opportunities, he said.

The CM said Punjab was the safest and best province for investors. One window operation has been started for the convenience of investors and the government is facilitating the investors and the public at all levels, he added.

He appreciated the PBIT for attracting foreign direct investment through rapid industrialisation and special economic zones.

Terming the international community’s silence on the Kashmir issue criminal, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has called for raise a strong voice against the inhumane treatment of Kashmiris in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

In his message on the Kashmir Black Day, he said Kashmiris are waiting for voices to be raised in their favour like the issue of Ukraine. India forcibly occupied the state of Jammu and Kashmir without any legal or moral justifications on October 27, 1947.

The chief minister said state-sponsored human rights violations had increased manifold in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in recent years. In fact, the occupied region has been turned into the world’s largest open prison by deploying additional troops and imposing media and communication blackouts, the CM added.

The ugly face of the world’s largest, so-called, democracy has been fully exposed in front of the international community, he said.

The chief minister said the Kashmir Black Day is a tragic chapter in human history. Despite the atrocities that have been going on for more than seven decades, India is unable to break the strong passion for freedom of the Kashmiris.