Country does not need leadership of U-turns: Nawaz

GHAZI/HARIPUR: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan needs political vision and a prudent and dynamic leadership to move forward in all spheres of national life, and the country does not require those who take U-turns at every step and lack wisdom.
He asked where those who came to send the government packing during their sit-in had gone.
Nawaz Sharif expressed these views while addressing a gathering of party workers at the residence of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then NWFP) chief minister Pir Sabir Shah in Srikot, Ghazi on Thursday.
Vowing to curb terrorism in Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pledged that the power crisis in the country would end before his government’s term of office expired.“The country will have more electricity and gas than its requirements in the near future,” he said.
He said the country was facing numerous crises — including terrorism, corruption and inflation — when his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), came to power. “The country was at the brink of being declared a defaulter when the PML-N took over the government,” he recalled.
“My government overcame the problems with dedication and hard work,” he maintained.He accused the leadership ofsome opposition parties of trying to derail democracy in the country by organising anti-government protests. “Foul language had been used against the PML-N leadership but we did not respond,” he said.
He argued that Naya Pakistan was nowhere in sight in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and promised that his government would make a new Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by launching development projects, including roads, and improving infrastructure.“The people do not need leadership that lack wisdom and could take U-turn on every issue,” he said without pointing out PTI’s recent decision of returning to assemblies.
Nawaz Sharif said the law and order situation in Karachi was improving and his government was taking steps to address the grievances of Baloch people. “The relations with Afghanistan have improved in the last a few months and we are trying to defeat terrorism,” he claimed.
On the request of Pir Sabir Shah, the prime minister announced provision of natural gas to various villages in Ghazi tehsil. He also lifted ban on new gas connections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Praising the role of Pakistan Army, the premier said that it had broken the back of the terrorists. “Fata would soon be cleared of terrorists once for all,” he stressed.
He revealed that JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman wanted to form government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in coalition with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after May 2013 polls. But respecting the mandate given by the people, he did not agree to the proposal.
The prime minister said the PML-N government had always given priority to national interest over personal ones and said, “We were the people who built motorways, powerhouses, Ghazi Barotha and had surplus electricity.” He said by end of 2017, due to the untiring efforts of his government, 10,000MW would be added to the system and there would be no more loadshedding and the country would have enough energy to meet its requirements.
He said his government was working on a plan to construct a modern road network from Khunjerab to Mansehra, of which the Hazara Expressway would be a part, and would usher in an era of prosperity in the entire area. He said KP was a home of PML-N and the party could easily win more seats with hard work, commitment and service to the masses.
The prime minister said his party worked hard for the development of this province in 1991. He said though several claims had been made by the KP government, the province was experiencing maladministration, ill-performance of provincial police, apathy towards people problems and denial of justice. He regretted that those who claimed to bring about a revolutionary change were nowhere to be seen today. He said Judicial Commission had been formed to probe the allegations of rigging in the general election 2013. However, he said there was no incident of rigging anywhere in the country. He questioned the people if there was any incident of rigging, to which the large crowd replied in “No, No.” He said since local bodies elections were just round the corner, he would not announce any development projects for the area, however he added that all projects identified by Pir Sabir Shah would be completed.
He said that the world was acknowledging the positive changes being brought about by his government and mentioned in this regard the reports by Bloomberg and ratings by Moody’s. He said the country had made a remarkable turnaround in economy and the biggest agenda of his government was to end shortage of electricity by 2017. He said inflation was a thing of the past; prices of everyday items had dropped, while the terrorists’ network had been disrupted and their hideouts were destroyed.
He paid rich tributes to the sacrifices of the armed forces in eradicating terrorism from the country and said the change was evident. Referring to the situation in Karachi, he said the incidents of target killing, kidnapping for ransom had reduced and the life in the city would soon return to normalcy. He said the situation in Balochistan had improved significantly and was far better since his government came into power.
Pir Sabir Shah in his speech thanked the prime minister for visiting Srikot and said it was a moment of pride for the PML-N workers that their leader had joined them despite pressing engagements. He said the prime minister could not visit the area last week due to bad weather. He said prime minister assumed the power at a time when the country was facing numerous challenges including terrorism and weak economy. However, with steadfastness and commitment, he improved the law and order situation and economy of the country. He said due to prudence of Prime Minister Sharif, the leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had no choice but to return to the National Assembly.
He claimed that real development would be brought about in Fata during the next three years through the well-conceived policies of federal government.
Former foreign minister Gohar Ayub Khan, Adviser to Prime Minister Amir Muqam, Minister for Defence and Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, federal ministers Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Pervaiz Rashid and Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, Sanaullah Zehri, Senator Zafar Iqbal Jhagra and other party leaders were present on the occasion.