GUJRAT: Prime Minister Imran Khan believes that India under Narendra Modi can carry out some sort of a misadventure in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to divert the world’s attention from protests at home against certain official steps mainly targeting Muslims.

“I am telling you now he (Modi) will certainly try to do something in Azad Kashmir. I discussed it (the threat) with Gen Bajwa who time and again assured me that the Pakistan Army is ready for it,” he said while speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Jalalpur Canal project in Pind Dadan Khan town of Jhelum district on Thursday.

PM Khan said 2020 would be the year of economic stability in Pakistan and would prove to be a tough one for mafias. Elaborating further, he said mafias were present in the Federal Board of Revenue and other government institutions, in politics and in newspapers. He said newspapers carried bad news (against the government) everyday. Those journalists who had benefited from the corrupt system in the past were now writing against his administration, he said.

Says 2020 will be the year of economic stability in Pakistan

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Federal Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain also spoke on the occasion.

Mr Khan held Indian Prime Minister Modi responsible for the massacre of thousands of Muslims in Gujarat and atrocities in held Kashmir.

“The people of India will stand up against him. Not only Muslims but other minorities in India know it very well that Modi can do what Hitler did against Jews in Germany. Pakistan does not need to do anything because this system of oppression will be internally brought down by the people of India,” he said.

Paying tribute to two soldiers who laid down their lives at the Line of Control earlier on Thursday, Mr Khan said that shelling at the border was not occurring in isolation. He said Modi had virtually imprisoned eight million residents of occupied Kashmir after revoking the region’s special autonomy and had now introduced two laws — the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens — which had attracted large-scale protests for being against India’s 200 million Muslims.

PM Khan said no country could make progress unless corruption was not eliminated from society.

He mentioned that during the last 10 years corrupt politicians had played havoc with public money that led to currency devaluation and inflation. “We have no personal enmity with the corrupt mafia which gets united whenever caught,” he said.

The prime minister asked the nation to support him in his fight against corruption and collectively defeat the mafia involved in looting the national exchequer.

He gave the reference of the accountability systems in China and the United States for not sparing culprits of corruption.

The canal will not only provide drinking water to the area residents but also irrigate nearly 175,000 acres of land through 20 water storage ponds, 30 distributaries and 17 drinking outlets.

Economic situation

Mr Khan said the government at its inception faced a difficult economic situation in the shape of trade deficit, currency devaluation and high import price of petroleum, gas and edible oil.

However, the country at present had gained economic stability with the rupee getting stronger, and exports, investments and remittances increasing.

The year 2020 would also be a year of job opportunities for Pakistanis, he told the gathering to a big applause.

“I always tell my nation to have faith. With the Grace of Almighty Allah, we have started coming out of crises,” he said.

The prime minister said Pakistan was blessed with fertile land and gold and copper reserves, but he regretted that this potential could not be exploited due to apathy of rulers in the past.

Earlier, PM Khan performed the groundbreaking of the Jalalpur Canal Project, which will be completed in a period of four years at a cost of Rs50 billion.

The 114-kilometre-long canal, off-taking from Rasul Barrage on the Jhelum river, is expected to turn around the economy of rural areas in Jhelum and Khushab districts.

Elected from the area, Fawad Chaudhry thanked the prime minister for groundbreaking of the Jalalpur irrigation project. He demanded funds for improvement of the road infrastructure in Jhelum district.

Hamid Asghar in Gujjar Khan also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2019