Addressing a public gathering in Bisham area of district Shangla, the prime minister while referring to the PTI’s provincial government, questioned how many hospitals and health facilities it had constructed or provided free of cost treatment and medicines to the poor people during its rule.
During the PML-N rule in Punjab province, Shehbaz Sharif said, the orphans, widows and hopeless were provided with free-of-cost treatment and now the same facilities had been restarted after gap of four years. The medicines were being provided irrespective of the class differences, he added. The prime minister also assured similar provision of health facilities in KPK as well. He also appealed to chief minister KPK to provide free-of-cost medicines and treatment to the poor families.
“Shehbaz Sharif is ready to embark upon such initiatives as the national resources belong to all provinces. I will sell my clothes to provide relief to the people of KPK,’ the premier said as crowds chanted slogans in his favour.
Criticising the previous PTI’s government, he said the price hike had reached a historic peak in the last four years with huge debt hovering around Rs 24,000 billion. Also, Shehbaz Sharif promised to provide adequate wheat supply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on equal rates as of Punjab. The Prime Minister announced completion of construction work on a 132kv grid station in the area within three months.
Shehbaz Sharif also announced establishment of a medical college for the youth of Shangla District besides announcing two-billion rupees grant development projects for the area.
| Shehbaz Sharif says a person lied, misled nation for four years | Price hike during PTI govt reached historic high with Rs24,000b debt | Announces Rs2b development package, medical college for Shangla
Shehbaz Sharif ‘will sell clothes to provide relief to people of KPK’
Shehbaz also assured that the coalition government would work ceaselessly to transform Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into a developed province and provide all basic facilities which had been taken out of the reach of the poor people by the PTI government.
“Due to their corruption and incompetency, the previous rulers even did not put a single brick to the stalled projects, the BRT was delayed causing billion of rupees losses,” he said, adding the former rulers only unveiled plaques of the projects launched by the PML-N government.
“The price of sugar increased from Rs52 to over Rs100 per kg during the PTI government and so is the case of other commodities. I believe in public service and will never lie to the nation,” the prime minister said. “I have taken charge as the servant of the nation a few weeks ago but I am trying my level best to provide relief to people in terms of the prices of commodities. I will ask the KP chief minister to bring down prices of flour and sugar. If they can’t do it, I will provide funds for it to provide relief to people of KP. The development of Punjab alone is not the progress of Pakistan but all provinces including KP must also make progress,” he added.
He added that PTI ruled KP for eight years but could not construct a major hospital in the province. He said that the only scheme PTI claimed was BRT in Peshawar but that too consumed a huge amount and became the most expensive project, compared to other such schemes. He said that his government would leave no stone unturned to provide all the basic facilities of life to the people of the province, regretting that basic items like wheat and sugar had been taken out of the reach of the poor people by the former PTI government.
The prime minister said during the holy month of Ramazan, he had announced a reduction in the prices of flour and sugar in Punjab province. He further informed that the provincial government in Punjab would soon announce similar relief to the people and urged KPK chief minister to follow the suit to provide relief to the masses.
The prime minister said if his request was not heeded to, he would come forward to serve the masses in KPK with the provision of such relief. He stressed that uniform development of all provinces was must for the progress and development of the country.
The prime minister lamented that country’s economy had been left in dire straits by the inept rulers of PTI.
“It is not the same Pakistan for which its ancestors had given huge sacrifices, where health and education (facilities) are not equal for everyone. It is the right of every citizen to excel in every field of life by availing the equal opportunities,” he added.
The prime minister said Pakistan had been searching for its destination marred by incompetence and corruption during the last four years the miseries of the public were further compounded by power load-shedding and unavailability of gas.
Nawaz Sharif’s government had installed new power plants with the capacity of generating thousands of megawatts of power which were shut down by the PTI’s government, he added.
In a veiled reference to former prime minister Imran Khan, he said a person lied and misled the nation during the last four years.
Now he was shy of mentioning any achievement of his government as he had fears to inform the public about the record price hike of flour and sugar and the load-shedding. They left the national coffer empty due to the ballooning of debts during their rule, he added.
He said the coalition government was working day and night to transform Pakistan as envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He assured that he would visit the province again when the implementation of his announcements starts taking place.
The prime minister asked the people to make a solemn pledge to strive with sweat and blood for the progress and prosperity of the country as going out with a begging bowl was not a solution to the economic woes of the country.
He also mentioned his recent meetings with the Saudi and UAE Crown Princes and appreciated their kind gesture towards the people of Pakistan. The prime minister also appreciated the people of KPK that had always rendered unmatched sacrifices for the country by upholding the national flag high, adding the history of the province was replete with such sacrifices.
The prime minister also announced the construction of a medical college and grant of Rs2 billion for the streets and roads in Shangla.
PML-N provincial president and PM’s advisor Engineer Amir Muqam, Dr Abdullah MNA, Rashad Khan, Fazal Ullah PML-N leaders and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi also spoke on the occasion.
PM desires to further enhance Pak-EU multi-faceted ties
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while highlighting the strong economic, trade and investment ties between Pakistan and EU, has expressed his desire for further strengthening this multi-faceted relationship in diverse sectors including climate change and legal migration.
The prime minister was talking to Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Pakistan led by Charge d’ Affaires Thomas Seiler, who called on him at PM office in Islamabad on Saturday.
Charge d’ Affaires Thomas Seiler congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on assuming the office and conveyed best wishes of the European Council president and the EU Commission president.
The prime minister thanked the charge d’affaires for his felicitations and underlined the importance Pakistan attached to its relations with EU and its member states.
The prime minister also underscored the importance of regular high-level exchanges between the two sides to deepen bilateral collaboration and enhance mutual cooperation on issues of peace and stability in the regional and international context.
The charge d’affaires affirmed EU’s commitment to further deepening of bilateral cooperation with Pakistan.
Pakistan and EU are celebrating the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Events marking this milestone are envisaged to be held both in Islamabad and Brussels.