PM Kakar lashes out at militants

KARACHI  -  Caretaker Prime Minis­ter Anwaarul Haq Kakar Wednesday categori­cally said that Pakistan would never surren­der to radicalisation, extremism and intoler­ance but rather would fight without falling prey to war fatigue.

"Those who think we will fall prey to war fa­tigue should clear their misunderstanding. This war is not fought by in­dividuals... This war is fought by nation... Sur­rendering is not an op­tion. We will fight no matter what," he said during a press confer­ence during his visit here. 

Referring to the mar­tyrdom of soldiers in South Waziristan on Tuesday, he said that Pakistan is not a pow­er that would return 5,000 kilometers away from here. "This is our home. We are here. We will run our home in our own way," he said.

The prime minister said those trying to un­dermine the morale of the Pakistani nation should clear their mis­understanding as Paki­stan would never for­get the sacrifices of its martyrs. He said Paki­stan is not fighting this war on alms but rath­er spending our own taxpayers' money. He said the Pakistani sol­diers were not render­ing sacrifices in return for the salaries. 

"Their service is not in return for salaries, rath­er respect and digni­ty is their salary. Salary is just meant to suffice their needs. The nation pays them in the form of respect," he remarked.

Prime Minister Ka­kar said that those who were trying to create chaos in the name of religion were actually miscalculating and mis­reading. "This is a clear message. They can fight for a limited time, but not for long. They are miscalculating and misreading whom they are faced with. We are not afraid of suicide at­tackers," he said. 

Referring to the rescue operation of trapped eight passengers of a cable car in Bat­tagram, the prime minister said the country’s infrastructure was becoming a threat to human lives. “We were overwhelmingly over the moon as we heard the rescue of the last kid... We will celebrate it as it gave us an op­portunity to unify us,” he com­mented and appreciated the rescuers for the way they res­cued the kids and children for the way they controlled their nerves in a heroic way.

He said the defense institu­tions did not only face challeng­es on external fronts but also take a lead role in crisis man­agement. The prime minister also asked the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other relevant departments to improve their performance.

‘Economic journey’

Caretaker Prime Minister An­waarul Haq Kakar Wednesday called for collective efforts to transform the 250 million na­tion of Pakistan through collec­tive efforts by taking forward the economic journey.

He addressing the members of the business community here on Tuesday night during his vis­it assured them that the gov­ernment would do the maxi­mum possible for the uplift of the business community as they were the engine of economic growth. He said the $6 trillion natural deposits in Balochistan did not reflect in the condition of the people living there. The nation living on the Indus Basin facing food insecurity manifest­ed the collective incompetence, he added. The prime minister said the caretaker government would resolve all of the issues confronting the business com­munity within its capacity.

He said the caretaker govern­ment had a very limited man­date to assist in elections, run day-to-day governance issues, and follow the international commitment till the new par­liament. He said the caretaker setup was becoming a source of peaceful transition.

Calling Karachi, Karachiites and the business community a “grace of the nation”, the prime minister said Pakistan could not survive sans their contribution.

Prime Minister Anwaar said the provision of low-cost elec­tricity was inevitable for in­dustrialization as the existing reserves of natural gas were in­sufficient to support the indus­try’s needs.

Emphasizing the need for skilled human resources, the prime minister also mentioned the issues of structural challeng­es and business attitudes facing the goods and services sector. He said it would take some time to transform old business prac­tices into corporate culture.

“I want to reassure you that we will transform. We will bring optimism. We will do it collectively. Let’s start listen­ing to each other. We will lis­ten to you and you should lis­ten to the state,” he asked the business community. Rubbish­ing the notions of brain drain, the prime minister said in the past, India also faced the same issue but the same people re­turned to their homeland as an asset.

Exemplifying the remarkable distinction achieved by the doc­tors of Pakistani origin in the United States, he said the over­seas Pakistanis always rescued the country whenever it faced the crisis of foreign exchange.

He advised businessmen to adopt the best business practic­es without giving up the larger good for petty interests. “Let us discover the Pakistani dream. Let us discover the Pakistani branding,” he remarked.

He called for devising a mech­anism for tax reforms, low-cost power, foreign exchange issues, and international agreements and assured the government would make all-out efforts to do the doable.

The prime minister lauded the services of Saylani Foun­dation for carrying out the responsibilities of food and human resources which oth­erwise was the responsibility of the state. “If Saylani can do it, why can’t the state of Paki­stan do it with huge machin­ery?” he questioned. Mean­while, a delegation comprising the leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Wednes­day called on Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar here. The members of the dele­gation apprised the prime min­ister of the problems confront­ing Sindh particularly Karachi.

The delegation consisted of Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wa­hab, Qaim Ali Shah, Syed Mu­rad Ali Shah and Saeed Ghani. The prime minister assured the delegation that his govern­ment would utilise maximum resources for early resolution of the issues.

The PPP delegation congratu­lated the prime minister on as­suming the office and expressed good wishes for him. Caretak­er Federal Minister for Informa­tion and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi also attended the meet­ing. ‘Actor Zahir Lehri apprises PM of issues facing Balochistan artists’ Renowned Actor Zahir Lehri on Wednesday called on Caretaker Prime Minister An­waar-ul-Haq here and apprised him of the problems faced by the artists in Balochistan.

The prime minister assured the government’s full coopera­tion to the artists.

The actor congratulated the prime minister on assuming the office and expressed good wishes for him. The prime minister thanked the actor for the gesture.