LONDON: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the civilian and military leaderships are on one page and the Operation Zarb-e-Azb is the greatest manifestation of that. He said that Pakistan’s civilian and military leaderships are united, and there is an iron resolve to defeat terrorism and help Pakistan defeat all kinds of menaces to make it a developed and forward-looking country. He was addressing a conference organised by the Overseas Pakistanis Commission (OPC). Leading businessmen, led by Bestway Group’s Zameer Chaudhry, and others attended the conference. He said that after terrorism, energy is Pakistan’s second biggest challenge. He said that the Government of Pakistan has been able to put in place a roadmap to deal with this issue. “If things continue to move smoothly, and no issues are created for us then I am definite that Pakistan will come out of this by the end of 2017,” he said. The Punjab chief minister said the Chinese government has always supported Pakistan through thick and thin at international forums.He said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreements of $46 billion were a manifestation of this friendship and it never happened previously. He said that China had far better options than investing in Pakistan but it proved its sincerity to Pakistan to help the people of Pakistan. “Terming this amount a commercial loan is like insulting Pakistan. These are all solid Chinese investments in Pakistan. They have not sought additional guarantees from us,” Shahbaz said. He said it’s time to understand that China has given Pakistan a great favour when many in the world were not ready to help the country.He said that the Gwadar Port, the Silk Route and the Karachi-Lahore motorway projects will put Pakistan on a new path to development and work has begun on many of these areas. He told the audience that the public transport system offers great relief to the common man, and Punjab has set an example which will be copied in other parts of Pakistan too. He invited Pakistani businessmen abroad to invest in Pakistan and take advantage of the opportunities offered by the government. He assured the business community that they will make good money on their investments. He said the commission for overseas Pakistanis started by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is a great initiative and is aimed at addressing the issues of Pakistani expatriates. “This commission is surely expanding, and I am personally overseeing its performance. I give them full support, and they are autonomous in their work.” Shahbaz said that Pakistan has been going through difficult times since the inception of the Cold War between America and the former USSR. He said that Pakistan inherited drugs and Kalashnikov culture as a result of that war, and previously Pakistan didn’t have a semblance of extremism and Pakistanis of all faiths and belongings were sociable to each other. Conservative MEP Sajjad Karim praised the Punjab chief minister for being at the forefront in reaching out to the international agencies when it is about the benefit of Pakistan.He said that while working at the European level, it’s his experience that Shahbaz Sharif has helped him the most and pulled all the blocks out for him. “His government has been the quickest in grasping the opportunities offered to Pakistan, especially the windows of opportunities opened by the European Union. There are immense opportunities in Pakistan and I see in Shahbaz Sharif the most active partner. I have found him as the person who believes in delivery and he has proven himself,” said Sajjad Karim, who played a leading role in paving the way for Pakistan’s export to the European markets. Afzaal Bhatti, who is heading the OPC, said the Punjab government has set up a taskforce to resolve the issues of overseas Pakistanis. He said that in a year over 2,000 complaints were received by the commission and more than 90 percent of these have been resolved. “We are defeating the land mafia on the one hand and we are helping overseas Pakistanis, as far as Punjab is concerned, at all the levels.”
