D.I. KHAN: The coalition administration, according to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehabaz Sharif, has led the nation out of economic catastrophe amid the most trying time in history. The disastrous flood that struck the nation shortly after the incumbent government entered office was one of the most challenging tasks the government has encountered in the past 16 months, he continued. At an opening and groundbreaking ceremony for eight development projects in the energy and communication sectors, the prime minister was speaking as the principal guest. “On one side, we had the disastrous flood, and on the other, we had inflation, pressure from the IMF, and a political crisis. I’ve never in my life had to deal with such difficult issues, the man remarked.
He said 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.
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.
Minister for Communications Asad Mehmood said the coalition government was committed to create a road link between the Gwadar Port and the Central Asian countries under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
He said the projects inaugurated by Nawaz Sharif were being restored and completed in various areas, especially in the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik said on the prime minister’s direction, sufficient supply of energy to the people at affordable price was being ensured.
During the last one year, he said, around 270 mmcf gas worth over $1 billion had been discovered from various areas of the country, and of which 138 mmcf had already been injected to the system while the rest would be included soon.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali, National Assembly Deputy Speaker, provincial ministers and government officials were present on the occasion.
