ISLAMABAD: Claiming that his party-led government has achieved more than 50 per cent of the targets set for the first 100 days, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday outlined the future line of action to gain the remaining objectives, saying all his policies were meant to transform Pakistan into a real welfare state to uplift the poor and downtrodden.

Speaking at a largely attended special ceremony to mark the completion of first 100 days of his government in office at the Jinnah Convention Centre, the prime minister admitted that the nation was presently facing a difficult time, but vowed that the policies which his government had initiated would soon bear fruit.

“The days which are coming are not easy and the people will have to face difficult time till our policies are fully implemented,” Mr Khan added.

In his more than an hour-long speech, Mr Khan mostly talked about the future plans of his government instead of throwing light on the performance in the first 100 days. The task to highlight the achievements so far made by the government had been given to two key members of his cabinet — Finance Minister Asad Umar and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi — who apprised the participants of the performance of their respective ministries against the backdrop of the crisis the government had inherited on diplomatic and economic fronts.

PM claims half of 100-day targets achieved, outlines future plans

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Establishment Shahzad Arbab — under whose supervision the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had prepared the 100-day plan two months before the July 25 general elections — highlighted the salient features of the plan and implementation progress on them. He claimed that 18 of the 34 main points of the plan had been achieved.

The prime minister mostly emphasised the importance of poverty alleviation, social welfare schemes for the poor, eradication of corruption, attracting investment, enhancing trade and exports, better education facilities with introduction of uniform curriculum across the country, legal reforms, housing facilities, better diplomatic ties with neighbouring and other countries, economic reforms, boosting tourism and developing agriculture.

At the start of his speech, Mr Khan in a lighter note disclosed that he often forgot that he was the prime minister and his wife Bushra Bibi made him realise that he was the incumbent prime minister. “Whenever I see someone facing oppression on TV, I ask Bushra Bibi that what is going on in the country and then she tells me that I am the prime minister and then I pick up the phone to issue directives,” he said, amid laughter.

Addressing the gathering participated mostly by the party workers, Mr Khan said the government wanted to restore peaceful relations between Pakistan and India only for the benefit of the poor class of the country. “If we have good relations with India we would have mutual trade and it will benefit lower class of the country,” he added.

Education

Talking about the education system, the prime minister said Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood had already formed a special committee to introduce a uniform curriculum in the country as curricula of private schools, government educational institutions and Madressahs were all together different from each other.

Health facilities

The prime minister said the government wanted to end a trend that rich people got medical treatment in private hospitals while the poor were compelled to have such facility in public hospitals which were in pathetic condition. “We want to improve the condition of government hospitals and health card will be issued to the deserving people for their free medical treatment,” he added.

He announced that four million children would be provided nourishment in order to reduce stunted growth, whereas the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) would be expanded.

Corruption and poverty

Terming corruption the biggest cause of increased poverty in the country, the prime minister alleged that former rulers had intentionally weakened the institutions to hide their misdeeds.

He expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the National Accountability Bureau and said there was a room for improvement in the working of the bureau. “Unfortunately, the conviction rate of NAB is seven per cent, but a similar organisation in Malaysia has over 90 per cent conviction rate,” he said, adding that NAB was an independent institution and “unfortunately” did not come under the supervision of the government.

On the other hand, he said, the government in its100 days had strengthen the Federal Investigation Agency which had traced $12 billion money laundering committed in the past. He said the government had signed memoranda of understanding with 26 different countries, including Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistanis had stashed billions of rupees. “Except Switzerland with whom an agreement was signed today, more than $1 billion undeclared money has been traced in other 26 countries,” he added.

Prime Minister Khan said the UAE government had provided details of assets of Pakistanis, except those who had iqama (work permit) because iqama holders were considered citizens of the UAE. “Now we got to know that why our prime ministers and ministers got iqamas so that their laundered money cannot be traced,” he said. The government, he added, set an assets recovery unit and receiving information that rich people had purchased costly apartments in the names of their servants and drivers.

Talks with IMF

Sharing details about the government’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the prime minister said Pakistan had received monetary assistance from the Fund 16 times in the past and if the present government did not take revolutionary steps for improving exports, investments, tax collection and foreign remittances, the country would continue to rely on IMF’s assistance.

He said India and Malaysia had also went to the IMF but only for one time and later they made efforts and stood on their own feet.

Austerity measures

Talking about austerity measures, Mr Khan said the government had cut its expenses and retrieved state land worth billions of rupees in Islamabad and Punjab.

“I did not take discretionary fund of Rs150 million and KP [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] Governor Shah Farman also refused to take his discretionary fund of Rs120 million,” he said, adding that state land worth Rs350 million had been retrieved in Islamabad and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has managed to get recovered 88,000 acres of state land whose worth must be running into billions of rupees.

The prime minister vowed to bring revolution in the agriculture sector by learning from other countries, including China, and improving the conditions of local farmers. He said Chinese technology like caged fishing could be adopted to get better fish production in the country’s costal belt.

Regarding the water crisis, the prime minister said the government had made the Rs140bn plan regarding concrete lining of canals. “By strengthening the bed and banks of canals we can conserve more water than we can obtain from Bhasha dam.

Tourism

The prime minister said Pakistan’s tourism industry had great potential and a task force had been formed to promote the country’s “religious and ecological tourism”.

Mr Khan gave an overview of the planned legal reforms for which he credited Law Minister Farogh Naseem. “Under these reforms, courts will have to decide cases in one year and women’s inheritance rights will be protected,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2018