SAHIWAL: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that a new local bodies system will be introduced to address the problems of people at their doorsteps.
Addressing a ceremony in connection with distribution of cheques under Ehsaas and Kamyab Jawaan Programs in Sahiwal on Friday, the Prime Minister said the local government elections will be held this year.
The Prime Minister said a long-term policy is being framed to uplift the agriculture sector, which has been made part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. He said the country is also heading towards industrialisation. He said, “Due to our policies, the textile industry is operating at its full capacity whilst the construction sector is also witnessing a major growth.”
The Prime Minister said the government is working to uplift the areas which were neglected in the past. He said the health insurance cards will be provided to all families in Punjab by December this year.
The Prime Minister said the government has decided to bring a uniformed syllabus so that the children of poor families also get the opportunities to excel. He urged the Punjab chief minister to focus on improving education in government educational institutions. He lamented how there were three different educational syllabuses being taught to students in one country. “In one country, we have three different syllabuses. Three different cultures,” he said.
He said Ehsaas program has been launched to protect the vulnerable segments of the society.
The Prime Minister said the rule of law provides a strong base for progress and prosperity of a country. He lauded the efforts of Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and his team for taking indiscriminate action against land grabbers.
The Prime Minister said now action is being taken against influential persons, which is the real change. He gave Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar a pat on the back for razing to the ground landgrabbers’ ‘palaces’.
He said that the government had taken action against “Lahore’s largest qabza group”, accusing a former prime minister of supporting them. “The [former] prime minister and his government were protecting these landgrabbers,” he said.
The Prime Minister turned his guns to the opposition, saying that change had indeed been brought to Pakistan because for the first time ever, “big thieves” are being held to account.
Meanwhile, a delegation of parliamentarians and PTI members hailing from Sahiwal Division called on Prime Minister Imran Khan in Sahiwal on Friday.
The delegation included Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal, Syed Samsam Ali Bukhari, Malik Noman Ahmed Langrial, Chaudhry Muhammad Norez Shakoor, Sheikh Muhammad Chohan, Malik Faisal Jalal Dhaku, Mahar Irshad Hussain Kathia, Waheed Asghar Dogar, Syed Muhammad Muzafar Shah Khagga, Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan, Faizullah Kamoka, Shakil Ahmed Niazi, Rao Aftab Ahmed, Nabila Awan, Dr. Mazhar Sherazi and Waseem Ramay.
Later, talking to the media persons in Sahiwal, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the alliance of opposition parties is bound to fail as people only take to streets against corruption and not to protect it.
He said the corrupt elements got together to blackmail the government but they will not be given any national reconciliation ordinance (NRO). The Prime Minister said it is the utmost effort of the government to ensure transparency and end corrupt practices in the Senate elections. He said, “Apart from moving the court, we are set to introduce a constitutional amendment in the National Assembly for open ballot in the polls of the upper house.”
“We don’t have a two-third majority in the Parliament but still we are presenting a bill so that the nation should know who is working to eliminate corruption and who is involved in it.”
The Prime Minister said that he knew the name of a political leader who is “arranging funds” for horse-trading in the upcoming Senate elections. He said his government is making all-out efforts to stop horse-trading and buying of votes in the upcoming elections of the upper house of the parliament.
Without disclosing anyone’s name, the Premier also revealed that in the past he too was offered money to vote in Senate elections. He said two former prime ministers – Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto – signed the Charter of Democracy in May 2006 and one of its points was to introduce an open ballot in Senate elections to block the way of horse-trading.
Responding to a question about foreign funding case, Imran Khan said, “It is our desire that the case reaches a logical conclusion.” He said there should be scrutiny of the funds of all political parties. – TLTP
