MULTAN: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was striving hard to strengthen the national economy, but some forces did not want to see Pakistan flourish.
Addressing a ceremony after laying the foundation stone of Madni Chowk Flyover, he said that India wanted to destabilise Pakistan by creating unrest on its soil, however, Pakistan had exposed the enemy country’s nefarious designs at important international forums.
Citing the report of European Union (EU)-based DisinfoLab, the foreign minister said that India was running fake websites and non-governmental organisations to defame Pakistan through baseless propaganda.
Condemning the killing of 11 miners in Balochistan, Qureshi said that the elements behind such incidents did not wish the country to move forward on the path of progress and development. They were not the supporters of Pakistan, and the government would not only expose them but also defeat them, he added.
FM Qureshi said that the PTI government was fully focused on the economic turnaround. He said that while the textile and power loom sector are working at full capacity now, merely two years ago, all the power looms had shut down.
Now Pakistan is receiving huge export orders and the textile city of Faisalabad was facing shortage of labour, he added.
This was all due to business-friendly policies of the PTI government, he remarked.
A strong economy was of vital importance to address the issue of unemployment and poverty alleviation, he stressed.
As regards the Madni Chowk Flyover, Qureshi said that the flyover’s construction was longstanding demand of the local people. The project would be completed at the cost of over Rs416 million in one year’s time. It would help business activities flourish once completed, he added.
The foreign minister said that the PTI government had constructed the Surij-Kund and Sui Gas roads. The people had been demanding the building of two roads for the last 30 years.
He said that sewerage and clean drinking water were two major issues in the city, and he would get more funds earmarked from Prime Minister Imran Khan for the city’s uplift.
The people of Multan district had gifted all six seats of National Assembly (NA) thanks to the PTI, he stated.
Qureshi said that Multan was one of the most important cities of South Punjab. The South Punjab Secretariat was established in the city after amendment in the rules of businesses, he said. The PTI government had laid the foundation for the establishment of South Punjab province and no one could reverse the important steps in that regard in the future, he added.
PTI’s Chief Whip in the National Assembly and Special Assistant to the Prime (SAPM) Minister Malik Aamir Dogar, in his speech, thanked the foreign minister for the construction of Madni Chowk Flyover.
Qureshi also hailed Deputy Commissioner Aamir Khattak, Multan Development Authority (MDA) Chairman Rana Abdul Jabbar and director-general for their efforts for the construction of the flyover.
Member of Punjab Assembly Javed Akhtar Ansari and local PTI leaders were also present on the occasion.
