PM vows to take Pakistan amongst top developed countries

SIALKOT, July 19 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz
Sharif Wednesday vowed to take Pakistan amongst the top
ranking developed countries and said the masses had rejected
the negative politics that wanted to push the country back to
the stone age.
He was addressing the Sialkot Chambers of Commerce and
Industry after inaugurating the Riaz-uddin Sheikh Business
Centre, where the business community of the industrial city
reposed full confidence in his economic policies and stressed
continuity.
Prime Minister Sharif said the Pakistan of 2017 was much
better than the one of 2013 and those demanding his
resignation were the ones who did not wish to take Pakistan
towards stability.
He said the past four years of negative politics had
slowed the pace of progress. He said he believed that the only
way forward was to address poverty, unemployment and
terrorism, by undertaking development in all spheres.
The prime minister regretted that the ongoing so-called
accountability was only aimed at creating disability in the
country.
He said being the Prime Minister of Pakistan, he had offered
himself and his family for accountability, but it was beyond his understanding what kind of accountability they had been facing so far.
“Please stop your political jugglery, stop misleading
the nation and focus on national development and prosperity,”
he added.
He said not even a penny of corruption had been
proved against him.
He said he and his party would come out clean from all this mess, that
had been going on since 2014.
He mentioned the earlier two phases of the sit-ins that
only created hurdles in Pakistan’s march towards progress and
prosperity.
The prime minister rejected the ongoing campaign against
his pro-development government and said the stock market rose
from 19,000 to 54,000 points since he came into power.
He, however, regretted that due to the ongoing situation
it slumped by 10,000 points. “Who is responsible for this
loss?” he questioned.
He said the US 56 billion dollars investment by
China in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor were delayed by
six months due to the sit-in at Islamabad.
He said his government was being held accountable for
the past 44 years.
He said his family had always been victimised in the past and had been
targeted for serving the masses.
Today Balochistan was a productive and integral part of
Pakistan, owing to the selfless service to the masses, the
prime minister said.
He said only the one who sincerely believed in the
uplift of the common man, the welfare of the farmers, the
betterment of industrialists and businessmen, could serve the
masses in the best possible manner.
He said work on the completion of different sections of
the motorways was going ahead at a fast pace.
He mentioned the progress on Karachi-Hyderabad, Sialkot-
Lahore and Multan-Karachi sections.
He termed it an extensive infrastructure development
programme that was unprecedented in Pakistan’s history.
He said a number of road projects were near completion
and added he would inaugurate the new sections soon.
The prime minister said the first two years of his
government were spent on arranging funds for the development
projects and said today the long hours of loadshedding were a
thing of the past.
He said every few days ahead, a new power project would
be adding electricity to the national grid.
He said only a few years back the people were sick and
tired of endless power outages, unemployment, lawlessness and
lack of investment.
He said country’s railways network would be upgraded by
an investment of US 58 billion dollars. He said his government
saved Rs168 billion in three power projects alone due to
transparency and better management.
He said his government had worked very hard to turn
around the country’s economy and said he was proud to note
that all projects had been completed with complete
transparency.
He said Pakistan would soon have abundant, cheap
electricity and pointed its cost had dropped from Rs15 to Rs10
per unit and hoped that it would soon be down to Rs8.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to continue the
journey of national economic stability by taking the business
community into confidence.
He said Pakistan’s economic indicators were getting better day by day.
He said government’s effective and positive economic
policies were restoring confidence of local and foreign
investors, adding the policies were bearing fruits and the
national economy was moving ahead.
Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the
newly established ‘Sheikh Riazud Din Business and Trade
Centre’ adjacent to SCCI Building.
The centre has been established by the government at a
total cost of Rs480 million for boosting trade, business,
industrial and export activities in Sialkot region.
The centre has been named after Sialkot based business tycoon Riazud Din
Sheikh for his meritorious services for the Sialkot industry.
Nawaz Sharif linked the economic prosperity with
political stability and continuity of export development
policies in the country.
He underlined the need for development of human resources for continuous
economic growth as well.
He termed Sialkot an engine for boosting the national
economy and lauded the unique export culture of Sialkot.
Investment in the area would be encouraged to further enhance
exports, he added.
The prime minister said the government was fully aware
of the problems of the business community and making all-out
efforts to resolve them amicably.
He said the government was committed to weeding out terrorism from the
country as the whole nation was united, ready to sacrifice lives and stood shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces of the country.
Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI)
President Majid Raza Bhutta called for continuity of
business-friendly policies for economic stability, development
and prosperity of the country.
Defence and Water and Power Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister
for Planning and Development Chaudhry Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Trade Engineer Khurram Dastgir, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Tariq Pasha, President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Majid Raza Bhutta, the MNAs, local MPAs and representatives of trade bodies were also present on the occasion.
Later, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also addressed the
meeting of the local parliamentarians and party workers at the
residence of Khawaja Muhammad Asif at Sialkot Cantonment.
The prime minister also visited the site of
Sialkot-Lahore Motorway project which was being executed at a
cost of Rs53 billion, and reviewed the pace of work.