Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday rued the lack of opportunities available for the middle and poor classes in the country, saying the PTI government was making efforts to change the mindset and priorities in Pakistan.

Addressing the launch ceremony of the Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) in Islamabad, he said "all the systems in Pakistan have been made for the elite."

Terming the programme a "landmark" and "splendid idea", the premier said his government had learnt from the housing finance programme introduced previously that banks did not have the infrastructure and training to give loans to people from the professional and lower classes of society.

"A lot of time was consumed in overcoming obstacles and even when we had passed the foreclosure law, our banks did not have the infrastructure and training to give loans to people. We realised that by the time banks learn to give loans to poorer people, our five years will be over," he said, adding that this was the reason the government decided to make microfinance banks a part of the Kamyab Pakistan Programme.

The premier said Pakistan had made a "huge mistake" by not following the ideas of the country's founding members to make Pakistan a welfare state.

"We made a huge mistake 74 years ago. We believed that we would make Pakistan a welfare state after there was prosperity and wealth in the country. The thought — that there needs to be surplus first and then we (government) will invest in the poor — I believe these were fundamentally wrong decisions."

Prime Minister Imran said humanity and justice were the foundations of a society and no country could progress without having the two qualities.

He said China and India had been "almost at the same level" 35-40 years ago but "today, China has reached the skies while in India, there is an island of rich people and the rest [live in] poverty." The reason China progressed was that it followed the model of Riyasat-e-Madina, he added.

'Education apartheid'

The premier said that Pakistan had "never implemented" the welfare system the founding fathers had thought of and instead an "elitist" system was formed.

Talking about the country's education system, he termed it a "huge misfortune" that a small segment of the country was enrolled in English-medium schools so they got jobs while the rest of the public was not able to progress.

"A different standard of education for one class [of society] and a different one for another — education apartheid. And then there were madressahs. Nobody tried to synthesise it. [This is] one country, one nation, at least it should have a core syllabus. Our kind of elite was benefiting from it, our children were getting good jobs so we had no incentive to change it."

Referring to objections against the Single National Curriculum (SNC), the premier questioned: "Do they have no shame? You know this is an unjust system yet you're still commenting that [we] are taking people backwards. I don't understand how we are going backwards by giving a level playing field to everyone."

Inflation

Prime Minister Imran acknowledged that poor people were "pained" by the rising inflation but defended his government's response, saying it was "making full efforts so that the lower class is not affected by the rising prices of commodities".

"The price of oil has increased 100 per cent internationally. We have only increased 22pc in Pakistan. Aside from 19 oil-producing countries, Pakistan has the cheapest petrol and diesel," he said.

"The price of wheat has risen by 37pc internationally because of the crunch that has come due to supply lines being affected by Covid. We have only increased prices by 12pc in Pakistan. Sugar prices have risen by 40pc, but we have increased only by 21pc," he said.

The premier stressed that the government had only passed on a "minimum impact" of the rising international prices. The government had lost Rs400 billion because of reducing the sales tax and petroleum levy, he added.

He said the government would soon announce another programme through which targeted subsidies would be given to the poor. Along with this, prices would fall once supply issues caused by the pandemic were resolved, he added.

Rs1.4 trillion soft loans

Under the Kamyab Pakistan Programme, Rs1.4 trillion soft loans will be provided to 3.7 million families across the country.

The programme will have five components. Famers will get interest-free loans under the Kamyab Kissan programme, financing of up to Rs500,000 will be made for setting up a business under the Kamyab Karobar programme, financing on easy installments will be extended for construction of houses under the Sasta Ghar scheme, besides linking successful skilled-based scholarship scheme and Sehat Insaf Card with the KPP, said a press release issued by the Prime Minister Office.

It quoted Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin as saying that the KPP would be a major initiative by the government to alleviate poverty by empowering the deprived segments of society and supporting them to transform their lives.

The programme would also link low-income groups with banks through microfinance institutions, the press release said, adding that it also reflected the state's sense of responsibility towards its weaker segments of the society.