LAHORE – Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan attaches great importance to its relations with the UK.
Talking to British High Commissioner Adam Thomson, who called on Shahbaz Sharif, at Model Town Tuesday, the chief minister said cooperation in economic, trade, industrial and other sectors between Pakistan and Britain should be further augmented.
The chief minister said we want trade not aid, while cooperation of British institutions for promotion of education in Punjab, besides other development sector was laudable.
“The DFID, a British institution, has yielded positive results with regard to School Reforms Roadmap. Promotion of education is top priority of the Punjab government through which extremism and terrorism can also be eliminated,” the CM held.
The chief minister said general elections would soon be held in Pakistan. He termed the next election not only important for change of government, but also crucial for the survival of the country.
Shahbaz hoped that people would select and vote for only honest, dedicated, determined and sincere leadership in forthcoming general elections, which was capable to understand and solve their problems.
“The PML-N is sincerely endeavoring that an agreement on caretaker setup should be reached as soon as possible, and such names should be brought forward, as are unimpeachable and whole country agrees on them,” the chief minister said.
Shahbaz said the PML-N gave very respectable names for centre and Punjab caretaker setup upon which the whole nation agreed. He said further consultation on caretaker setup was in progress in the party.
However, he said, it was essential that consensus be evolved regarding caretaker prime minister and chief ministers, so that they were fully capable of discharging duties of their high office with clean hands.
“The Punjab government is making sure availability of modern technical education to the youth to enable them earn their livelihood in a respectable manner,” the chief minister added.
Shahbaz said the youth was being encouraged through implementation of such schemes as Daanish schools, Punjab Education Endowment Fund, Education Foundation voucher scheme, green tractors scheme, internship programme, laptop scheme, ujala programme, and other development works.
He said good governance, merit and transparency of the Punjab government was being acknowledged even by international institutions and now India was copying development projects of Punjab as Uttar Pradesh government was providing laptops to the youth.
He said few years ago Pakistan used to copy India but, by the grace of God, Punjab government had established such high standards of development, during the last five years, that Indian provinces were following the programmes of the Punjab government.
“The Indian Punjab has also sought our help in the solid waste management sector. The Punjab government has achieved unprecedented development in the 65 years history of the country, despite difficulties and extreme opposition by the federal government,” he held.
Speaking on the occasion, British High Commissioner Adam Thomson said Pakistan is an important country of the region and Britain attaches great importance to its relations with it, while cooperation in education and other sectors with Punjab would continue.