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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Govt not doing politics but serving people: PM

Announces expressway from Gilgit to Skardu; distributes cheques among farmers under Kissan Package; free health scheme to be announced soon

By our correspondents
November 25, 2015
JHANG: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was not ruling the country but doing the politics of service and values.
Addressing a big gathering of farmers here at the Mai Heer Stadium, he said the government was serving the masses by rising above political affiliations with the sole purpose of making Pakistan prosperous.
He said the federal government stood by the political parties that had gained majority vote in Sindh, KP and Balochistan as it believed in selfless service to the masses.“I do not care which party is in power and in which province; I believe in caring for the people across the country.”
Nawaz announced that the government would introduce a health scheme soon to provide free of cost medical treatment to the children of poor people.
Without giving details of the scheme, he assured the downtrodden that his government would take full care of them considering it an obligation. He distributed cheques of his historic Rs341billion Kissan package of September this year among the farmers.
Federal Minister for Information Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Sikandar Hayat Bosan and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) for Political Affairs Dr. Syed Asif Saeed Kirmani accompanied the prime minister.
Nawaz said his government was proud to have launched one of the biggest packages in Pakistan’s history for a large agricultural community that was the backbone of the national economy. He said those who claimed to be the people’s well-wishers had in fact created hurdles for the country’s agriculture community.
“Expressing real sympathy, which is not merely with slogans and protests, one has to stand with the needy and practically do something for their betterment,” he added.
He regretted that due to hue and cry of the so-called well-wishers of people, implementation of the Kissan Package was delayed and the benefits did not reach the farming community.
“The government filed an appeal with the Supreme Court that nullified the high court’s order for the suspension of package,” he added.
He said the PML-N government was the first to announce the gigantic Rs341 billion package, which would directly help 1,277,000 farmers owning 5,020,436 acres of land. He said the prices of ‘phutti,’ cotton and rice, had fallen internationally, but the government stood up for the farming community and reached out to them for helping them in real terms. He said the government was utilising all resources for power generation and loadshedding would soon be a thing of the past. He said it was his government’s priority to not only produce electricity but also provide it at cheaper rate to the people. He said sugarcane farmers would also get a minimum of Rs180 per 40 kg for their crop.
Our correspondent adds from Gilgit: Later, addressing a gathering here at the Chanar Bagh adjacent to the Assembly compound where he distributed cheques among the last month’s earthquake affected people, Nawaz announced the construction of a high quality expressway from Gilgit to Skardu at the cost of Rs50 billion that would connect with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The road would be a game changer for the area.
Earlier, the prime minister attended the oath taking ceremony of Mir Ghanzanfar Ali Khan as the new Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
The prime minister assured full support of the federal government for the uplift of the area. He said the Skardu-Gilgit Road would usher in an era of prosperity in one of the remotest parts of the country.
He said the government was fully focused on power generation and a 27MW hydel project would be constructed for Gilgit. The prime minister said the government looked forward to generating around 15,000MW electricity through Diamer Bhasha, Dasu and Bunji dams.
He said the federal government would be spending Rs50 billion on various communication projects in Chitral and other areas. Nawaz said he was committed to the uplift of the area and said all resources would be utilised to provide all facilities of life to the people.
He expressed the hope that the new governor would serve the masses selflessly and bring one of the country’s remotest areas on a par with the developed parts of the country. He said the government was keen to strengthen democratic norms in the country and said a similar strategy was being worked upon for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
The prime minister also distributed cheques for compensation amongst the people of Diamer and Ghizir affected by the earthquake of Oct 26 that killed 14 people. An amount of Rs600,000 has been paid for those who lost their lives, Rs200,000 for those who lost a limb and Rs100,000 for the injured.
An amount of Rs200,000 was paid for a fully damaged house and Rs100,000 for a partially damaged one; 89 houses were fully damaged in the magnitude 8.0 earthquake. Governor Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan in his brief address expressed gratitude to the prime minister for selecting him for the task and assured the gathering that he would serve the people of the area without discrimination.
He said all efforts and resources would be utilised to ensure law and order in GB and development works would be undertaken. He urged the prime minister to help the area in meeting its energy shortages. He hoped that the completion of the CPEC would usher in an era of prosperity for the area. He also urged early initiation of work on the Skardu-Gilgit Road.