Leaders having assets abroad won’t take stand for Kashmiris: PM

Imran promises health insurance for AJK population

BAGH: Pledging to highlight the Indian atrocities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) at all international fora, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that political leaders having offshore assets can never raise voice for Kashmiris.

“Political leaders who don’t have their businesses, assets and wealth in Pakistan can never take a stand for you [Kashmiris],”the premier said on Saturday while addressing a public gathering in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Bagh district.

“If I had my assets and wealth abroad, I could have never said ‘absolutely not’ to US… and would have allowed them [US] to carry out drone strikes inside Pakistan,” he added.

The PM said the BJP-RSS ideology is not only a threat for the people of IIOJK but for the Muslims and other minorities living in the neighbouring country. The premier said when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi intensified atrocities in the occupied region after abrogating its semi-autonomous status in August, 2019, “Kashmiris did not bow down to the Indian atrocities and faced them with great courage”.

Pakistan and Kashmir’s relationship is based on Islamic principles, said the premier, adding that nations are “always built on ideologies, which help them understand a cause greater than individual goals”.

“Pakistan was based on Allama Iqbal and Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s vision — and I want Kashmiris to be free so that they can live their lives in line with the Islamic ideology.”

He while taking jibe at his political opponents said opposition leaders are only crying foul at the accountability process because they want relief in corruption cases. “Would this happen anywhere in the world that a political leader escapes from the country on a forged medical report,” the premier said while referring to former PM Nawaz Sharif who is in London for purported medical treatment. “All big thieves have joined hands and are asking for NRO,” he added.

The premier, while shedding light on the importance of the rule of law, said, “No nation can prosper if justice does not prevail.”

“I meet a lot of Kashmiris abroad, especially in Britain. You can ask them whether a corrupt person in that country asks for an NRO. No prosperous nation has different laws for the rich and the poor,” he said.

The prime minister also promised that the entire population of AJK will be provided with health insurance by the end of this year. “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has given all of its citizens the health card, Punjab will give health cards to all citizens by the end of this year, and we aim to provide it to all the citizens here in AJK as well,” he further said.

The premier said through the health insurance, families could get themselves treated at any hospital without worrying about money as each card provides for the use of Rs1 million.

Shifting to the country’s economic situation, the prime minister said past governments had never tried to make the country self-reliant, but the Pakistan of tomorrow would provide loans to poorer countries and refuse to take aid. “The good times are near,” he said.

The PM said the PTI-led government has started a new scheme of providing cheap loans to salaried people, including mechanics, welders, etc, — the ones who were never before able to buy a house for themselves.

Moreover, he said interest-free loans would be provided to families who were extremely poor, so they can buy essential items, including motorbikes, fertilisers, etc.

“There are two types of economic models — the first is ‘trickle-down’, in which people at the top become rich and help others who earn lower than them. The other was seen in use by the state of Madina, in which the uplift of the poor is the priority.”

Each person in a family will be given technical training and in today’s world, technical education is crucial as it helps women earn while sitting at home, he said.

1 COMMENT

  1. Leaders having wives and wives assets abroad won’t take stand for Kashmiris: PM where as he is ready for fourth wive from K without keeping any firangiii from outside?

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