Sacrificed politics to save economy: PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said his government had to take tough decisions to revive the economy and save the country from sovereign default at the cost of their politics.

He was talking to members of the National and provincial assemblies from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa who called on him at the PM House.

He said recently the government had announced big relief for poor and middle income people in electricity bills.

The prime minister announced the formation of a committee, chaired by the deputy prime minister, to find sustainable solutions to the issues faced by elected representatives in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

He assured that standard health and education facilities would be provided in the merged districts and announced the establishment of Danish Schools to offer international-standard education to local students.

Jobs for youth

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the relevant authorities to prepare a comprehensive strategy with respect to provision of employment opportunities to the youth of the country on equal basis.

During the meeting, it was noted that 64% of students who received training through the Youth Skills Development Programme secured respectable jobs over the past three years. Additionally, the government has funded 100 startups under the PM National Innovation Award, which are being placed in designated incubation centers across the country.

Similarly, the prime minister was informed that 10 international standard sports academies and a biomechanical laboratory would start functioning this year under PM Youth Sports League.

ECO

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday reaffirmed his commitment that Pakistan would continue to lend its full support to Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in enhancing intra-regional trade among ECO countries as well as on the ECO reforms agenda.

He was talking to Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Amb. Khusrav Noziri who called on him at the PM House.