PM announces Rs2.5 billion development package for Lodhran

PM vows not to allow anyone to resort to terrorism in the name of religion

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced on Friday a Rs2.5 billion development package for Lodhran and vowed swift implementation of the Kisan relief package.

“Although I have been asked to provide Rs2 billion but I will provide Rs2.5 billion for development works in Lodhran,” PM Nawaz said, while addressing farmers during his visit to Lodhran.

“No government has ever announced such a huge package for farmers in the history of Pakistan,” the premier added.



In a veiled jibe at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, Nawaz said, “Everyone knows who has put hurdles in the implementation of the Kisan relief package”.

“We wanted to implement the Kisan relief package within a week; however, some people put hurdles in our way to support farmers,” he claimed.

Further, the prime minister announced construction of two fly overs, a commerce college, an agriculture university. PM Nawaz also announced construction of a motorway in Lodhran which he said will not only bring prosperity but will also connect the city to Karachi and Lahore.



The prime minister went on to say that the government will keep launching other development projects for farmers in the long run, vowing that the incumbent government will eliminate power load shedding by the end of 2017.

Meanwhile, the PTI leadership severely criticised the prime minister’s visit ahead of local government (LG) polls, terming it ‘pre-poll rigging’. The party has written a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take notice of the premier’s visit and announcement of development packages in Lodhran.

On September 15, PM Nawaz had announced a comprehensive relief package, including grants, subsidies and loan advances from the government, to aid farmers through the country in a bid to spur sluggish growth in one of the country’s main economic sectors.



The reforms and grants will primarily target small farmers, classified as those with holdings of 12.5 acres or less. Agriculture accounts for roughly 23.8 per cent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

Will not allow anyone to resort to terrorism in the name of religion: PM

Vowing to eliminate terrorism from the country, PM Nawaz said the government will not allow terrorism under the garb of religion.

“When we came in power, we faced a huge challenge in the form of terrorism but we fearlessly took up the issue and addressed it,” Nawaz said, while addressing a function in Sialkot to distribute cheques among farmers under PM’s Kisan package.

“We will not allow anyone to resort to terrorism in the name of religion,” he added.

The premier announced a motorway project for Sialkot, claiming work has already started on Hazara, Karachi-Lahore and Karachi-Hyderabad motorway projects. “A network of infrastructure projects being implemented in every part of the country is true reflection of a new Pakistan.”

Further, PM Nawaz said Pakistan wants good relations with all its neighbours and the country is putting its sincere efforts to bring peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. “We are constructing a road from Pakistan to Jalalabad, Afghanistan.”

“The country’s past rulers and dictators never addressed the issue of power crisis and left it for us. However, we are taking every step to address the issue and we are confident that the issue will be eliminated by the end of 2017,” he said.