Shehbaz Sharif calls for providing equal opportunities to womenfolk n Launches Laptop Scheme for KP students, inaugurates Fata University n Praises Intelligence Bureau’s role for Pakistan's security.

ISLAMABAD  -  Prime Minister Muham­mad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday stressed upon provision of equal op­portunities to the wom­enfolk as they consisted of half of the country’s population and were playing varying roles at different strata of soci­ety. He was addressing the launching ceremony of the ‘Prime Minister’s Initiative for Women Empowerment’ which is being initiated at a total cost of Rs 10.4 billion.

The prime minister said that the country’s womenfolk were an ef­fective and energetic segment, playing effec­tive roles in families and society as mothers, sis­ters, wives and daugh­ters. He observed that in the last 75 years, the required opportunities for the women empow­erment were not suffi­cient and stressed upon making of further ef­forts for securing wom­en rights, including the inheritance rights and creation of opportuni­ties in a conducive en­vironment, so that they could contribute mean­ingfully and produc­tively in society. “Look around the Muslims world and the West, the women have played their due role for the progress and prosperity of their respective na­tions,” he added.

Lauding different prominent women per­sonalities of the coun­try, he said that they had served as great ambassadors of Paki­stan in different capacities. The prime minister said that there was no dearth of talent in Paki­stan as they were blessed with great minds, but there was a need to harness the true po­tential with creation of oppor­tunities. Commending the rural women, he said that the ratio of the rural area women in the na­tional building capacity was im­mense as they had been work­ing on fields along side with the men. He further observed that to achieve a place among the co­mity of nations, both genders of the country had to work togeth­er, and underlined the need for provision of financial and actual opportunities in different fields. “The women segment of our so­ciety is the driving engine for the country’s economy and serve as builders of nation,” he added.

About the creation of Shu­hada Fund initiative, he said it was their duty as the martyrs had sacrificed their lives for the protection of the motherland and saved generations. There could be no other precedent of bravery and valour than their sacrifice, he said, adding their bereaved families deserved honour and support.

‘THE PRICKING QUESTION’

The ceremony was attended by a large number of women be­longing to all walks of life, be­sides ministers, parliamentari­ans, representatives of women organizations and relevant au­thorities.

Referring to the current day challenges, he expressed his gratitude to the brotherly coun­try of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for extending financial support in form of $2 billion deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan. 

The prime minister ques­tioned that as a nation for how long they would continue to de­pend upon foreign loans. “It is the pricking question,” he add­ed. He said a neighbouring country of Pakistan in the year 1991 sought the last IMF pro­gramme and then did not re­quire any other financial pro­gramme. The prime minister underscored the need that they had to streamline their affairs by learning lessons from the past and ‘like an active nation have to move ahead’.

For a year, he said, he had never faced such severe finan­cial issues, triggered further by the last year’s floods, global in­flation and Ukraine war which posed a huge challenge for the country’s economy.

About the International Mon­etary Fund (IMF) programme, he hoped that it would proceed accordingly.

Terming the foreign debts fet­ters, he said the nation had to rid itself of financial chains. The prime minister further high­lighted that they had to focus on the development of agriculture, exports and exploration of pre­cious minerals worth trillions of dollars. He regretted that bil­lions of dollars had been wast­ed on litigation in the past and the country did not get a single penny profit which made them to suffer collectively. The prime minister without elaboration said that all the political leaders and dictators were equally re­sponsible for those woes.

“If we show determination, the country can emerge within days,” he added. The prime min­ister further highlighted that as chief minister of Punjab, he em­barked upon different initia­tives for women empowerment.

Also, while talking to Ambas­sador of Kingdom of Saudi Ara­bia Nawaf bin Saeed Ahmad Al-Malkiy, the prime minis­ter asked the ambassador to convey his special gratitude to Crown Prince and Prime Minis­ter Mohammed bin Salman for the deposit of $2 billion dollars with the State Bank of Pakistan. 

He also apprised Ambassa­dor Nawaf about the formation of Special Investment Facilita­tion Council (SFIC) to facilitate and fast-track potential invest­ments from the Gulf Cooper­ation Council (GCC) member states, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He emphasized that mutually rewarding Paki­stan-Saudi cooperation in key areas, including IT, energy, in­frastructure and labour must be fast-tracked and augmented.

‘INTELLIGENCE BUREAU’S PERFORMANCE’

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday ap­preciated the performance and role of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in strengthening the coun­try’s solidarity, sovereignty and thwarting threats posed by local and foreign elements.

The prime minister expressed these views during a meeting with IB Director General Fawad Asadullah Khan who presented a one-year performance report of the Bureau, the PM Office Me­dia Wing said in a press release.

He expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the IB and observed that it had played a very critical role in national solidarity and safeguarding its sovereignty. The prime minis­ter said that he had tasked the IB with additional tasks after as­suming his office and the Bureau had achieved them successfully.

It also played an effective role in rooting out criminal activi­ties and performed well in the anti-terrorism efforts, he said, adding the IB’s role was also ex­cellent with regard to gleaning of timely information, leading to correct decisions. He said the nation felt pride over the sac­rifices of its Shuhada who em­braced martyrdom for the secu­rity and defence of the country. The prime minister lauded pro­fessional ability of the DG IB and his efforts to further improve the Bureau, and also commend­ed the role and performance of IB officers and staff. The DG IB expressed his gratitude to the prime minister for reposing confidence in the Bureau and his support. The IB has been the oldest and the prime civilian in­telligence agency of Pakistan.