Political stability must for economic prosperity: PM Ashraf
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. — File photo
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf Saturday said Pakistan needed political continuity to become a stronger and respectable state among the comity of the nations.
Talking to notables from his constituency here at PM House, the prime minister said: “Pakistan has vast natural resources, which are many times more than the oil rich countries of the world but could not be exploited due to the political uncertainty and disruption of the political process.”
He said economic development and corresponding prosperity were intertwined with political stability.
The notables from the prime minister’s constituency said: “We are proud of him because he is the first prime minister from the Potohar region and he rose to this position on account of his hard work and commitment to the ideology of the PPP and its founding leaders.”
The prime minister said that Pakistan had copper and gold deposits, Thar coal reserves, about more than 40,000 MW potential of hydro power generation in Gilgit-Baltistan, fertile land in Punjab and yet ironically the people of the country were stricken with energy deficiency.
He said that it would be his utmost endeavour to rid the people of the torture of unscheduled load-shedding in the minimum possible time as a short-term measure.
He said the democratic government had also undertaken long term projects to resolve the problem on a permanent basis.
The prime minister said that power generation had improved and it would further improve in the near future leading to the target of no unscheduled load-shedding in the country.
On the demand of the Pakistani expatriate community, the prime minister said that he had already issued instructions to the Ministry of Interior to provide the facility of machine readable passports to overseas Pakistanis at the earliest.
Prime Minister Ashraf said overseas Pakistanis deserved the fair deal as they were sending billions of dollars back home and thus contributing to the country’s economy.
On the demand of the notables, the premier said that the construction of small dams in the Potohar region was the need of the hour to overcome the scarcity of water both for drinking and irrigation purposes.
The prime minister also underscored the importance of undertaking the drive for forestation, soil conservation and saving trees in the region to minimise the effects of climate change.
The notables prayed for the success of the premier and expressed their confidence that he would succeed in overcoming the challenges facing the country.
They said that Gujar Khan had produced prominent personalities like a chief justice of Pakistan, the army chief, two Nishan-i-Haider holders, four-star generals and above all the current prime minister.
The notables who attended the meeting included Zafar Chishti, Iftikhar Kayani, Raja Gustasab, Chaudhry Aurangzab, Raja Fiaz, Shokat Qureshi, Raja Zahid Khursheed, Pir Miskeen Shah, Pir Makhdoom, Raja Muhammad Ishaq, Malik Sultan Akber, Tahir Mughal, Riasat Bhatti, Chairman Qayyum, Chaudhry Sarfraz, Malik Abid Panjgraan, Tahir Raheel, Amir Khursheed, Iftikhar Bhatti, Munir, Kami, and Khalid Mazhar.
With Pakistan's politicians it's all talk. They have only one plan. Promise the citizen everything give them nothing. For the vote people get a piece of the dream. The rich, who already have the money have one political platform. It is always the same – the status quo.
i agree with him. look after ur citizens. you need to build a infrastructure and prosperity follows
What Pakistan needs is a critical plan to move the masses of Pakistan out of poverty , un-employment, housing and national health service plus the infrstructure to support these vital services to the "citizen". Pm s comes in and goes out but the country stay the same. It is crucial to bring real change to benefit the people of Pakistan. Ou roads, railways, our cities are in urgent need of modification and lasting improvement. PPP must infuse and inject new era of responsibility and accountability in order to secure presice above stated objectives. PPP is the only democratic organisation in Pakistan. Therefore it must use its constructive strength to rebuild Pakistan on firm footings. The opposition parties are always crying for power. And they don't realise that power only stems from the collective strength of the people.
therefore, I would pay little attention to opposition parties slogans and pay more constructive attention to the problems facing Pakistan today. Thank you.