Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that when he got the reins of power 16 months ago, the country was besotted by the worst kind of crises, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
He was addressing a ceremony in Dera Ismail Khan where he was on a day-long visit to inaugurated some development projects.
The prime minster said that when the PDM government came to power, it inherited multitude of problems like terrorism, political unrest, catastrophic floods, extreme dearth of resources, expensive oil, suspended IMF programme, and sky-rocketing inflation. He said he had never seen such challenges before in his political career.
PM Shehbaz said his government worked hard to steer the country out of these crises. He lashed out at the previous government, saying that the PTI government left no stone unturned to sacrifice the State in order to save its politics.
“On the contrary, the coalition partners decided to leave the politics and save the state,” he added.
Earlier Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated and laid foundation stones of eight development projects including construction of roads, link roads, 220 KV power sub-station and provision of oil and gas to local population.
JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was also present on the occasion. He addressed the ceremony.
براہِ راست - ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان: وزیرِ اعظم شہباز شریف کا 8 ترقیاتی منصوبوں کا افتتاح اور سنگ بنیاد رکھنے کی تقریب سے خطاب https://t.co/9u3dIYPQ5f
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 25, 2023
Shehabaz Sharif said despite the history’s most difficult period, the coalition government had steered the country out of economic crisis. During the last 16 months, the incumbent government faced the most difficult challenges like the devastating flood hit the country soon after it took charge of the office, he added.
“We faced the devastating flood on one side, and inflation, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) pressure, and political crisis on the other. Such challenging problems have never been faced by me in my whole life,” he said and added all the coalition government parties had unanimously decided to ensure economic stability at all costs, including their politics. Such a resolve on their part helped the government to bring the country out of crisis. There was record wheat production in a decade, which saved billions of dollars.
However, PTI Chairman Imran Niazi exploited his own created situation which he used for political gains at the country’s cost, he added.
The prime minister said political opponents had wished for the country’s default, which by the blessings of the Almighty reverted due to the efforts of incumbent government.
He said had the former regimes fully utilized the country’s rich resources such as hydro power the country might have affordable and clean energy, and stressed to overhaul the faulty power transmission system causing over Rs 400 billion annual losses to the national exchequer.
PM Shehbaz vowed to break the begging bowl by curtailing the government expenses. A comprehensive plan of the Pakistan Green Initiative had been undertaken to take the country to new heights of development and prosperity.
Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman thanked the prime minister for his personal interest in ensuring development of the area. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had laid the foundation of many mega projects, which the PTI government seized hampering economic development, he added.
Fazl said industrial estates being established in Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan would change the fate of the people of the area.
Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir said the development projects, which remained suspended during 2018 to 2022, were being completed on priority.
He said due to the PM’s personal intervention, 5000 MW of electricity was added to the national grid in just 16 months.
The transmission line in Thar was completed in a few months, while work on three new grid stations of Rs 2 billion in Dera Ismail Khan was initiated by the current government, he added.