PM asks nation to decide its future course sans foreign debts
Lahore: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that there existed economic challenges but the nation would have to decide whether they would live on foreign debts or to stand on its feet by carving a niche among the comity of nations with honesty, dedication and hard work.
The prime minister expressed the optimism that despite different challenges, Pakistan would be soon out of all difficulties.
If the chronic issue of load shedding, the scourge of terrorism could end, free medicines could be provided to the poor, road infrastructure could be laid, then surely, the country could move on the path of progress and prosperity, he added.
The prime minister was addressing a ceremony after reviewing the construction work on six-lane overhead bridge of Imamia Colony railways crossing Shahdra N-5.
He said that those nations always achieved milestones that took lead with definite decisions over their future.
The country was not created to move on debts and act like beggar because their forefathers and different generations had given sacrifices for the motherland, he added.
The prime minister referred to the terms of International Monetary Fund (IMF) for seeking loan agreement and said that they did every effort to implement them.
PM asks nation to decide its future course sans foreign debts
Even, they sought bilateral financial support from the friendly nations including China that realized their problems and provided a rollover of $2 billion loan besides, returning back previous debt amount paid back by Pakistan.
The prime minister also expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE had committed a loan of $3 billion.
He lauded the efforts of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and the chief of army staff for making efforts in this regard.
The ceremony was attended by Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, parliamentarians, chief secretary, National Highway Authority chairman and relevant authorities.
The prime minister said that inflation and price hike, no doubt, had made the lives of ordinary people difficult, but the coalition government was cognizant of these affects.
He urged the nation to work hard by day and night and transform the country into the visions of Quaid and Allama Iqbal.
The prime minister cited the pace of development and uplift projects across Punjab province during Nawaz Sharif’ tenure, regretting that during the last four years of PTI’s tenure, brakes were applied, ending a number of public welfare-oriented projects, besides putting other vital projects into the cold storage.
Recounting the public welfare projects initiated during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure in the province, he said, some of them included the greater Iqbal park, metro bus service, cricket ground, power projects to overcome 20 hours load shedding which was ended in 2018 and that was a huge achievement.
But during 2018, he said through ‘a fraud and fake election’, polling results were rigged and the results were changed.
With such move, the development pace was snatched which also saw a height of corruption in the province during PTI’s government. Whereas, the PML-N government had strived to eliminate the curse during its terms, he added.
He reminded the people that during his tenure as provincial chief minister, the Mall and Gulberg roads were washed but now, these roads had been left in dilapidated condition by the former rulers.
He said during his 12 years terms as the chief minister, he had provided flour to the people at subsidized rates, but for the first time in the country’s history, about 80 to 100 million people were being benefited from the free flour scheme for which Rs65 billion rupees were spent in the month of Ramazan alone.
