Today’s Pakistan stronger than before: PM

Says next budget to be presented by PML-N govt

ISLAMABAD: Terming the budget for 2017-18 year presented in the National Assembly on Friday as extremely balanced and decent, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif claimed today’s Pakistan is stronger than before despite the fact that the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) government inherited all the problems from the previous governments. 

The prime minister said this while talking to a group of media persons after attending the sitting of the National Assembly where the budget was presented by Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar. He said the performance of the government was in front of everyone. He said the next year budget will also be presented by the PML-N government. 

The premier reminded that special emphasis had been laid on the poor in the preparation of the budget and they had been provided relief. He said appropriate funds have been allocated for various ongoing and proposed power generation projects to address the electricity crisis on a permanent basis. He said measures had also been proposed for the betterment of agriculture and growers. 

Earlier, addressing the ruling PML-N parliamentary party, Nawaz Sharif said the government has set up a new record in the history of the country by producing unprecedented Rs1 trillion development budget for next fiscal year. “It demonstrates the PML-N’s vision for the masses selflessly,” he said. 

He said that despite huge problems that his government inherited in 2013, today Pakistan was stronger and stable. "We are accountable to the people of Pakistan and they will decide as to who delivered and who did not," the prime minister told the parliamentarians. Nawaz said his government believed in the rule of values and not that of power and was serving the people of Pakistan with utmost sincerity.

The premier said that his government worked very hard and now the development projects were being completed on a fast pace with utmost transparency and efficiency. He regretted that in the past development projects were delayed and cost over-run was common, however, now savings were being achieved on these projects. He said that the government was not only working on energy projects but was also trying to make energy affordable for consumers. He said the projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were being completed rapidly. He said that by next few months, 3,600MW power would be added to the national grid. 

The prime minister said his government was working for providing a secure base for sustainable energy sources for Pakistan. "We are working hard to complete even those projects that were abandoned ... because we want development of Pakistan and our people," Nawaz said. He said the whole country was being connected through network of roads and motorways. He said this connectivity would bring huge dividends for business, industry and exports. He said the government was working on governance reforms, which was a long process with opposition from various segments. However he said that his government was determined to bring in positive reforms. 

The premier said security situation has improved during the tenure of the PML-N government. He said his government also focused on development of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Fata to bring these areas at par with other provinces.