PESHAWAR: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Asad Umar said on Sunday the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government would complete its term as the latest protest drive mounted by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would fizzle out soon.

Talking to journalists, Mr Umar said that after “every three months or so” the opposition alliance organises “flop shows” with the aim of sending the government packing but each time the attempt fails.

He was accompanied by federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz.

“The PDM’s campaign is just seasonal and this time again it will disappear without achieving the desired goal,” he said after speaking at a two-day Digital Youth Summit here.

He said the PTI government would “vaccinate” (the people) against this disease (PDM) which will be eradicated.

In response to a question, Mr Faraz said the economic situation in Afghanistan was unsatisfactory; so, Pakistan would definitely help the neighbouring country.

“Pakistan’s peace is linked to peace and prosperity in Afghanistan,” he said. The government was making all-out efforts to restore stability in the war-torn country.

In response to a question about unprecedented inflation in Pakistan, the science minister said inflation had increased globally, adding that the government was working hard to control the prices of commodities.

Earlier, speaking at the Digital Youth Summit, Mr Umar said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was training about 100,000 youths in the information technology sector, which would facilitate growth in that area.

The training programme would be completed in about 18 months and would cost the government Rs8 billion.

With improvements in the area and appropriate policy interventions, IT exports grew three-folds during the last three years, he said.

As a result of the boost in confidence of foreign investors, billions were invested in the IT sector. Consequently, he said, millions of jobs were created across the country.

There were a lot of opportunities in the agriculture sector and the government had given due attention to this area, which was why the production of wheat, rice and sugarcane had increased a lot, he said.

The government was investing more in the agriculture, IT and tourism sectors because these areas had ample investment and employment opportunities, Mr Umar said.

He said record production of wheat, rice and sugarcane had proved that the government was on the right track so far as agriculture policy was concerned. Farmers were getting benefits, as a result.

Similarly, he said, in the urban areas there were a lot of opportunities in the construction sector. As a consequence of the government’s policies, a boom was being witnessed in that sector as well.

The construction industry, the planning minister said, had grown exponentially due to the interest taken in it by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Commenting on the foreign exchange position, he said the largest foreign exchange reserves in the history of Pakistan showed that the country was truly on the path to development.

He said the threat posed by coronavirus was still very much there and advised all the people to get themselves vaccinated against the potentially deadly disease.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2021