‘no politics’ on projects of public welfare,PM
Islamabad/Lahore_In his over 14-minute address to the nation, he said despite challenges and conspiracies hatched by political opponents, the coalition government had successfully managed to put the country in the right direction in the shortest period.
The premier said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme agreed by the previous government on the toughest conditions was the biggest obstacle in the way of the country’s economic revival.
The last regime had brought the country to the brink of default by deviating from that agreement, he added.
He said ironically, the political opponents remained busy in hatching conspiracies and creating hurdles while the coalition government was trying to resume the programme.
The incumbent government had to face the biggest challenges and conspiracies in Pakistan’s democratic history in the shortest period and steered it out of the deep crisis, he added.
PM Shehbaz said the coalition government was going to end in August on completing its tenure and would hand over the reins to the caretaker setup.
“During the short period of one and a quarter year, due to our collective wisdom and prudent policies, we cleared the debris and economic landmines laid by the previous government,” he added.
He said the period of his government was a journey of moving from destruction towards construction, economic stability, helping the flood-affected people, providing maximum employment to the jobless and relief to the people hit by inflation, and revival of freedom of speech, media freedom, and national integration.
He said the coalition parties sacrificed their politics for saving the country from default by taking the toughest decisions. “We always remained worried about increasing the foreign exchange reserves instead of thinking about our vote banks.”
The premier said despite anti-state conspiracies, the government did not lose its heart and succeeded in reaching a staff level agreement with the IMF.
“Today, on behalf of the whole nation, I sincerely thank friendly and brotherly countries China, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, which once again supported Pakistan with sincerity under a very difficult situation and that can never be forgotten,” he added.
He said the way Chinese President Xi Jinping, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan played their role in bringing Pakistan out of the crisis was praiseworthy.
He also acknowledged the efforts of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on the diplomatic front. Similarly, he also appreciated Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir for their untiring efforts to help stabilise the economy.
Now, he said, the time had come to regain the country’s lost glory by moving forward with collective wisdom and struggle. For that purpose, he added, a comprehensive national plan of economic revival had been finalised.
The Special Investment Facilitation Council had been set up, which had initiated its work and was paving the way for big investments from the Gulf countries in various fields including agriculture, industry, energy, IT, defence production, and minerals, he said.
PM Shehbaz also assured the nation that on this national agenda, the federal government, all the provincial governments, and the armed forces were adopting the whole of the government approach to make it a success.
Expressing satisfaction over the overall economic situation, the premier said the trust of the business and investment communities was also reviving while the international rating agency Fitch had also improved Pakistan’s rating to triple C.
Similarly, he said, the United Nation’s Human Rights Council had also testified the improving situation of human rights in Pakistan whereas the country had also shown improvement by seven points in the International Freedom Index.
PM Shehbaz said when the staff level agreement with the IMF was announced on June 30, the investors expressed their full satisfaction through the Stock Exchange Market as the KSE-100 index jumped by a record 2446 points in a single day.
Now the Stock Exchange had crossed the 45,000 points level which was the highest in 14 months, he said adding that the value of the Pakistani Rupee was also improving.
Resolving to break the begging bowl, he asked the youth to come forward to take the country to new heights of development and prosperity.
Earlier,
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday visited the Nishtar Hospital (II) project in Multan where he said that the project, launched in 2018, remained a victim of negligence for four years out of mere jealousy and political vengeance
Speaking during his visit to under-construction 500-bed Nishtar Hospital II, Shehbaz Sharif directed completion of public welfare projects on priority basis and stressed that such programmes should not be politicized in the best interest of people.
“We announced the project in 2018. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government ruined all projects in four years,” he said.
“The construction of the hospital was neglected for four years. The jealousy was that the project belonged to Nawaz Sharif,” he added.
“The PTI government did not provide funds for the project. There should be no politics on the projects of public welfare,” he pointed out.
“A humanitarian service was stopped due to vindictive politics. The PTI remained indifferent for four years which is condemnable. Those who used to label others thieves blocked the development of the country,” he lambasted.
“The machinery for the hospital has been brought from abroad,” he declared.
The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the ongoing pace of construction work at the hospital, however regretted that the work on phase II of Nishtar Hospital was stopped during the government of Imran Khan. He said the non-implementation of the development work affected the large population of patients in the city and adjoining areas.
He expressed confidence that under the supervision of Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the expansion of hospital would be completed by September 30. Also, the import of modern machinery will help ensure effective implementation of the work, he added.
He also lauded the efforts of the Commissioner of Multan, the Health Secretary and other officials concerned in carrying out the hospital project effectively. He proposed the idea of establishing a medical city in the area to facilitate the locals with state-of-the-art medical facilities.
Governor Punjab Balighur Rehman, Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and senior provincial government officials were present.
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