ISLAMABAD, June 15: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that political stability was highly important to achieve economic strength, attract investment, and ensure development as well as prosperity in the country.
“Until there is no political stability, there would not be any economic stability as both are inter-linked with each other,” the premier said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the rehabilitated and widened Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed Road (previously known as IJ Principal Road).
Shehbaz said in a situation where there was political instability in the country, the political opponents were hatching conspiracies everywhere, spreading false propaganda and misleading the nation; nobody would be ready to invest in the country.
Blaming the previous government for the current economic crisis, the prime minister said it breached its own agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to which the confidence of the fund in Pakistan shattered and it was now reluctant to resume its agreement.
However, he said the incumbent government had met all the conditions of the IMF, hoping that the programme would resume anytime very soon.
PM Shehbaz vowed, “Under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, we all together would bring the country out of all crises and make it a stable and developed Pakistan.”
He said the previous government had ignored development projects and the progress on reconstruction of IJP Road was also ongoing at a snail’s pace. However, he said the incumbent government made it possible to complete it in the stipulated time.
Appreciating the team responsible for the project’s completion on time, the prime minister said the project, previously known as IJ Principal Road, had now been named after Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed (Nishan-e-Haidar).
He said those nations remained alive and moved forward with pride that remembered their martyrs and respected the armed forces.
The May 9 incidents ashamed the whole nation, he said, adding that the martyrs sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country’s security and saved hundreds of thousands of children from becoming orphans by making their own children orphans.
He said a patriotic citizen could not even think of what happened on May 9. The people involved in the incidents were in fact enemies of the country, he added.
With respect to the ongoing projects in the federal capital, the prime minister informed that all the projects facing delays would be completed by next month and electric buses would also arrive here by July 15.
He said the metro project was also totally ignored by the previous regime but the incumbent government opened it within days after assuming charge.
He said facts had proved now that the conspirator just wasted the nation’s precious time by making false allegation that his government was removed by a cypher from the United States.
He said due to the sincere efforts of the incumbent government, the crude oil had been purchased at a price, at least $15 per barrel less than the international price.
“Each dollar is important for us at this critical time as we need to minimise inflation and we need to provide maximum relief to the common man,” he said, adding that despite the economic crisis, the government had provided maximum relief to the people.
He also appreciated Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for presenting a pro-poor budget. He informed that the government had raised the salaries of government employees by 30% to 35% and pensions by 17.5%.
With respect to the false allegation by the PTI chairman, PM Shehbaz said if there was any corruption, the proof should have been presented. “If there is any proof, we will happily present ourselves for investigation,” he added.
“Imran kept on terming his opponents thieves but he himself had been proved to be guilty of corruption in Toshakhana and Al-Qadir Trust cases,” he added.
He informed that a Solid Waste Management would be introduced in the federal capital very soon. He deplored that the previous government had damaged the whole Solid Waste Management system in Lahore.
The prime minister said that the government would give 100,000 laptops to the talented youth and the distribution would start next month. He made it clear that the laptops would be given totally on merit and no reference would be accepted.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the PML-N, under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, had eradicated the menace of terrorism from the country. He said overcoming the electricity load shedding was also hallmark of the PML-N government.
Former MNA Hanif Abbasi said the incumbent government provided the biggest package of Islamabad history as it announced Rs80 billion for transport and road projects in one year.
He said the first consignment of 30 electric buses would arrive here by the first week of next month. He said 35,000 trees had been planted along the newly rehabilitated road while overall 900,000 trees had been planted in Islamabad.
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb was also present on the occasion.
Later, PM Shehbaz also inaugurated the 7th Avenue Interchange on Srinagar Highway. He was informed during the briefing that the project would facilitate the commuters of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and help in the smooth flow of the traffic during rush hours.
The prime minister also laid the foundation stone of the construction of 11th Avenue, Islamabad. He also received briefing regarding the project.
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