ISLAMABAD: In a ‘give-and-take’ move, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday assured the Muttahida Qaumi Movement of a ‘prominent role’ in the recently formed Gilgit-Baltistan government, while the MQM gave him complete assurance to support the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in the forthcoming Senate elections.

During a meeting between the prime minister’s team and an MQM delegation on the lawns of Prime Minister House, it was decided that the PTI, MQM and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), a cluster of seven different local parties in Sindh, would jointly contest the Senate polls.

It was officially informed by the PM Office that the prime minister and the MQM delegation led by its chief Khalid Maqbool Siddqui discussed the upcoming Senate polls. Federal Minister for Information Technology Syed Aminul Haq also attended the meeting. The MQM is a prominent ally of the government at Centre.

Later talking to Dawn, Aminul Haq said the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and Prime Minister Khan had assured that the MQM would have an adviser in the PTI-led GB government.

PM promises Muttahida will have an adviser in GB government

“In fact PTI leader Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari (commonly known as Zulfi Bukhari) and me inked an agreement under which MQM withdrew its candidate in support of PTI a day before GB polls held on Nov 15, while PTI assured MQM’s participation in GB government,” he said.

The MQM leader said his party had a good track record in GB where it got the second highest number of votes in the 2009 elections and that one or two of its members (MLAs) always remained in the GB Legislative Assembly. “Since MQM has now no MLA in the GB assembly, the prime minister assured that the party will have at least one adviser [in GB government],” he added.

Mr Haq said the MQM had assured the prime minister of its support in the Senate elections and both sides agreed that the PTI, MQM and GDA would jointly contest the Senate polls from Sindh.

Regarding the MQM’s other demands, the prime minister assured that politically motivated cases against its leaders and workers would be withdrawn and the issue of missing MQM workers would be addressed.

“We are also meeting newly appointed Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Friday (today) in which the minister will be apprised of our problems and demands,” Aminul Haq said.

Talking about the Rs1.1 trillion Karachi Transformation Plan, the prime minister assured the MQM that it would be taken onboard on all decisions regarding development of the metropolis.

Meeting on SMEs

Presiding over a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on small and medium enterprises, the prime minister directed the authorities concerned to accomplish the targets set for SMEs’ uplift. He said the country’s all economic indicators were on a positive trajectory and promotion of SMEs was a must to bring further improvement.

The Sindh chief secretary, secretaries of industries of Gilgit-Baltistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and CEO of the Trade Development Authority participated in the meeting via video link.

The prime minister said SMEs were a key component of the economy and their empowerment would help strengthen the economic outlook and create employment opportunities.

The meeting was told that the government was in consultation with all stakeholders to extend financial support to SMEs for which a special fund would also be created. It was also told that targets had been set to address legal, administrative and regulatory issues for betterment of the SME sector. Moreover, restructuring of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority was also being done to facilitate the business sector.

The meeting was informed that working groups had been created in the provinces and SMEs’ database was being updated on priority for their timely facilitation.

Ravi, Bundle Island projects

During a separate meeting on the much ambitious Ravi Urban Development project in Lahore and Bundle Island project in Karachi, the prime minister was informed that a design and construction consultant had been appointed for the Ravi project, while scrutiny for technical consultancy was under way for the island project.

Punjab Chief Secretary Jawwad Rafiq Malik informed the meeting, via video link, that the provincial government had given approval in principal for allocation of funds for the Ravi project and an investment plan was being devised for investors.

Officials of the Pakistan Island Development Authority apprised the meeting that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between International Mangroves Alliance and LEAD Pakistan for protection of mangroves in Karachi’s coastal belt.

Prime Minister Khan said both the projects would fetch billions of rupees of foreign investment and provide jobs to the locals. “A comprehensive strategy should be devised to get maximum benefits of the two projects,” he added.

UNDP delegation

Prime Minister Khan reiterated the importance of digital solutions for improved governance and said Pakistan was committed to using digital technologies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

“It would help the vulnerable sections of society, in particular, to get maximum benefit from the social welfare and social protection policies of the government at grassroots level,” the prime minister said while talking to a delegation of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), dealing with digital governance, which briefed him on digital transformation.

The UNDP delegation comprised Resident Representative for Pakistan Aliona Niculita and Chief Technical Adviser on Digital Governance Tariq Malik.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2020