ISLAMABAD - Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid said on Tuesday that the recent good news on the economic front was the fruit of democracy in the country.
Addressing a joint press conference along with Chairman Board of Investment Miftah Ismail and Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Musaddaq Malik here, the minister said that those who tried to derail the system had failed in their efforts and the democratic system absorbed the shock. Neither democracy nor the economy collapsed after the sit-ins, he added.
He said time had proved that whenever Pakistan Muslim League came to power, the wheel of national economy moved in the right direction and this time too the government successfully kept the same pace and put economy on the right track. The minister said all international organizations monitoring the economy were giving positive reports and ratings, and economic magazines were publishing positive stories before August 14 this year but after that the environment did not remain conducive.
Hurdles were created in the development process and the visits of Chinese President and Qatari head of government had to be postponed, which affected the economic process and the energy sector became the main casualty, he added. However, he said, the Prime Minister had expressed the resolve to overcome the hurdles and losses with more hard work. To a question, he said investors invested only in those countries where there was political stability, transparency in governance, free judiciary, and a vibrant and independent media.
He said the success of investment conference could be judged by the fact that Board of Investment was expecting about 100 investors, but about 250 delegates attended the conference.
This achievement, he added, was the result of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s policies and vision.
Pervaiz Rashid said the politics of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz were linked with restoration of economy as the country’s progress was linked with economic progress, which creates countless job opportunities. To a question, the minister said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would visit China in early November and all memorandums of understanding, which were to be signed during the visit of the Chinese President to Pakistan, would be signed.
About the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline, he said the government would find a way out for arranging investment for the project. Petroleum Minister. Shahid Khakan was in Iran to discuss ways for moving forward on this project, he added.