ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has stressed that holding influential and powerful people accountable is important to uplift the country, Radio Pakistan reported.
Interacting with the general public on the telephone in a program titled ‘Aap Ka Wazir-e-Azam, Aap Kay Sath’ in Islamabad on Monday, he said that the country cannot be taken forward and achieve prosperity without effective rule of law.
He also said that the alliance of opposition parties has come together and has been pressurizing the government over the last two and a half years to get an NRO.
However, PM Imran maintained that giving an NRO to the corrupt elements would be tantamount to treason with the country. He said that the nation is already paying the price of the NRO given by former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf to the corrupt leaders.
PM Imran explained that the Broadsheet scandal exposes the whole saga of corruption. He said that the former judge of Supreme Court, Justice (r) Azmat Saeed, has the relevant expertise and has been entrusted the responsibility to probe into the matter and bring the facts before the public.
The premier said that a crackdown has also been started against the land grabbers to recover the official and private lands from this mafia. Laws will also be enacted to wage a war against the land mafia, he added
Responding to a question about the lack of civic amenities in Hyderabad district of Sindh, Prime Minister Imran said that all the powers have been delegated to the provinces after the passage of 18th Amendment and it is now their responsibility to look after the development work.
Regretting the malpractices in the Senate elections, the PM said that the government is bringing a constitutional amendment in the National Assembly (NA) this week to hold the elections of the upper house through an open ballot.
He further said that the nation will itself witness as to who does not want to put an end to the buying and selling of votes in the elections. He recalled that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had previously to hold the Senate polls through an open ballot committed through the Charter of Democracy.
Responding to a caller, Prime Minister Imran said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should take the case of foreign funding of political parties to its logical conclusion. He said that the opposition parties have no record of donors.
He also said that these parties themselves stand trapped as Nawaz Sharif cannot deny receiving money from Osama Bin Laden and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman from Libya. He further said that the PTI is the only party which has a transparent record of its donations.
When asked about the inflation, the premier replied that the government is fully cognisant of the problems being faced by the people due to the price hike. He went on to explain that he is regularly holding meetings on the issue, and the consumer price index has now started witnessing a decline due to the policies of the government.
Prime Minister Imran stated the exports and remittances have also witnessed a major boost in recent months. As a result, the country has managed to balance the current account surplus for the last five months. He said that the flow of dollars in the country will stabilize the local currency and also help address the issue of inflation. He expressed the commitment to overcome the issue of the price hike.
Highlighting the great potential of edible oil production in the country, the prime minister said that a major olive plantation drive will be launched this month to bolster domestic production of this fruit. He was confident there will be an olive revolution in the country which will not only promote healthy food but also help save precious foreign exchange currently being spent on its import.
The premier said that a boom is being witnessed in the construction and industrial sectors which are providing job opportunities to the people. He added that the textile industry is operating at its full capacity.
Alluding to the losses of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Prime Minister Imran said that the current government is determined to revamp them and run on modern lines. He said that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be turned into a professional and profitable entity.
Prime Minister Imran said that it is the priority of the government to administer the coronavirus vaccine to the whole population during the current year.
He said that the vaccine has arrived in Pakistan. He converted that the federal policy is to administer the vaccine to the frontline health workers in the first phase. In the next phase, the vaccine will be given to those above sixty years of age or faced with some serious illness, he added. He assured the vaccine will be administered as per the laid down criterion without any discrimination.
PM Imran said that the State of Medina was based on modern concepts such as rule of law, meritocracy and protection of human rights. He said that the last sermon delivered by Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) is the charter of humanity.
He then expressed a commitment to build Pakistan on the principles of State of Medina. He said that Pakistan is on the course of becoming a great nation by pursuing this path. PM Imran said that the subject of Seerat-un-Nabi (Peace Be Upon Him) will now be taught in the classes of seven, eight and nine in order to show students of the life and teachings of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
Prime Minister Imran Khan was appreciative of the fact that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has expanded the health insurance scheme to the whole population. He said that the Punjab government is also working to provide universal health coverage to the whole of the province by the end of this year.
On the Kashmir dispute, the prime minister voiced concerns over the grave human rights situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and the Line of Control (LoC) violations in which a number of innocent people have been martyred and injured.
He further stated that he has raised the issue at every international forum to sensitize the world community about the gravity of the situation. He maintained that he will also talk to the newly-elected US President Joe Biden to urge him to pressurise India to stop its campaign of oppression in the occupied territory.
On Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed on Friday, PM Imran said that he will address a public gathering in Kotli to express solidarity with the oppressed Kashmiri people.
When asked about Islamophobia, Prime Minister Imran stressed that all the Muslim countries will have to unitedly raise voice to address the issue. He said that he has also written letters to the heads of Muslim countries in the wake of France incident. He said, under the garb of freedom of expression, the western countries are hurting the sentiments of Muslims.
Replying to a question, the premier explained developing backward areas of the country, including Balochistan and tribal districts, is the foremost priority of the government. He said that the PTI has given a historic package for the development of South Balochistan and it envisages a whole range of different projects including those related to connectivity.
He also said that the government has decided to provide 3G and 4G facility in these areas to bring improvement in the living standards of the people there.
PM Imran said that the government has initiated Naya Pakistan Housing Programme to provide low-cost housing units to the low-income groups. The government has also launched a policy of concessionary loans, so that people could build their own houses, he added.
Responding to a question about Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), the prime minister said that the government will make all out efforts to turn this region into a tourism hub. He said that several projects have been envisaged for this purpose which will bring prosperity in the lives of the people. He also said that a grid station and small hydro power projects will be established in GB to address its electricity issues. He added that road infrastructure projects will also be executed to open the region for tourism.
About cricket, the prime minister said that the government’s effort is to promote cricket at the regional level. He was confident that the performance of our national team will also improve in the days to come.
