PM says govt still has time to fix economy

Shehbaz confident about steering country out of economic woes, post-flood challenges

DI KHAN:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday the ruling coalition still had eight more months in the government and expressed his resolve that it would steer the country out of its current difficulties despite a myriad of economic challenges.

Addressing a ceremony organised with regard to the development projects for southern districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the prime minister fired a broadside against his predecessor, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, “for damaging the country’s relations” with friendly countries such as China.

The prime minister stressed that general elections would be called after eight months and appealed to the people not to vote for those who levelled false allegations, damaged the country’s foreign relations and sold watches to bring bad name to the country.

“The coalition government has still eight months’ tenure left and after that period, elections will be held. In the general elections, the public will decide whether they vote for the man who sold precious watches, and is in the habit of levelling false allegations, or for those who served the nation,” the prime minister said.

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At the ceremony, Shehbaz laid foundation stones of different uplift projects in communication, roads, hydel and power infrastructure sectors. The ceremony was attended by K-P Governor Ghulam Ali, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Amir Muqam, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and others.

Shehbaz expressed the resolve that despite a myriad of economic challenges, including the post-flood situation, the government was determined to steer the country out of the current difficulties.

He vowed to change the fate of the country.

“Pakistan is destined for fast-paced progress and prosperity,” he said. “The challenges might be manifold but 220 million people of the country should not get worried. The coalition government with the support of its partners will steer the country out of the challenges,” he said.

“To achieve progress and prosperity, we will have to work hard with devotion,” he continued. “Nations always faced difficulties but the coalition government will put Pakistan on path to development through hard work,” he added.

“When I took the oath of office, I did not realise the extent of damage done to the national economy because of the wrong policies of the PTI government,” Shehbaz told the ceremony.  “The country was close to bankruptcy, while the agreement with the IMF [International Monetary Fund] was in the doldrums,” he said.

“But the efforts of the coalition government and institutions and the prayers of the people and the hard work and cooperation of the sympathisers of Pakistan, we saved the country from bankruptcy. There is no doubt that challenges are enormous.”

He regretted that the PTI government brought all the development projects initiated by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government to a grinding halt. He regretted that because of the faulty policies of PTI’s government, the friendly nations, including China, were displeased.

“You will be surprised if I tell you how much China was angry,” the prime minister said. “Imran Niazi pocketed money by selling a wristwatch with the model of Kaaba on it and hence defamed the country. Opponents were accused and insulted day and night,” he added.

He also criticised the PTI-led government in the province, saying that the provincial government always talked about introducing an efficient system, but in fact the people had witnessed the crumbling of that system. “The [provincial] government’s blunders cannot be ignored,” he said.

Terrorism

The prime minister expressed concerns over the rise of terrorists’ incidents in K-P. He lauded the sacrifices and successful operation launched by the Army’s Special Service Group (SSG) and the other law-enforcement agencies to eliminate terrorists, who had seized the Counter-Terrorism Centre in Bannu last week.

“The security personnel, who laid down their lives for the motherland, will always be remembered for their valour and bravery,” the prime minister said. He also expressed his grief and sorrow over loss of security personnel in Balochistan. He said that he would soon be chairing a meeting to review the situation.

Flood situation

The prime minister said that Pakistan suffered a whopping loss of about $30 billion due to the recent floods, adding that people’s woes were multiplied by global inflation and recession, Russia and Ukraine conflict and exorbitant price of gas and oil in the international market.

However, he added, the collective efforts were made by all the governments to overcome the floods, but different parts of Sindh were still under floodwater while the people of Gilgit-Baltistan were shivering from biting cold.

“The magnitude of the disaster was huge,” he said. “The federal government allocated a huge amount of Rs90 billion for the flood-affected populace and each affected family was given Rs25,000 each besides ensuring provision of medicine and food.”

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The prime minister told the participants that an international donors’ conference would be held in Geneva on January 9, where the government would remind the world that the climate-induced calamity was the result of global carbon emissions by the developed nations.

Shehbaz praised his elder brother and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for launching mega projects of motorways across the country. “The dream of Nawaz Sharif of a prosperous Pakistan will be fulfilled,” the prime minister added.

Addressing the ceremony, the JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman highlighted the importance of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route, linking Dera Ismail Khan division with Gwadar and other parts of the country. “The area is fast turning into a major trade and transit centre of the global trade,” he said.

Fazl emphasised that newly-merged tribal districts required fast-paced development so that they could be brought on a par with the developed areas of the country. “If the available water resources in the area are fully utilised, these will help irrigate about 1,200,000 acres of land,” he added.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)