ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Thursday that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) respects the Supreme Court although it doesn’t agree to its July 28 verdict of disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the Panama Papers case.
The prime minister said no chaos was created in the wake of the apex court verdict as Nawaz Sharif immediately relinquished the charge. He said the PML-N doesn’t want to create chaos in the country as it blocks development process. He was addressing a gathering in Dera Bugti on the occasion of opening of 369-kilometre Kachhi canal, which is being termed as fate changer for Balochistan.
“We will not repeat whatever wrongs were done with the people of Balochistan in the past and work to ease your problems,” he assured. The prime minister said the time was not far when Balochistan would become the most prosperous province of Pakistan. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi paid rich tribute to the sagacious leadership of Nawaz Sharif who initiated the canal way back in 1998. He urged the people of Balochistan to vote for those political parties who had put the country and their province on the road to progress and prosperity.
“Now you have to decide whether you want development of your country and the province or otherwise, the future of Balochistan is in your hands,” he said, adding that the PML-N is the only political party which has always thought about Pakistan and put it on the path of development.
The Rs80 billion Kachhi Canal project has been designed to turn 72,000 acres of barren land in Balochistan fertile. The prime minister said the PML-N did not believe in hallow slogans and promises but practically worked for resolution of people’s problems. The prime minister said this vital project was initiated by Nawaz Sharif in 1998; however, it fell victim to gross cost overrun and long delays. He said work on the project was started in 2002 but no attention was given by a dictator during his long tenure and the PPP government during its five-year term and finally funds for it were released by Nawaz Sharif. He said most of the people were against this project but keeping in view the importance of the project it was revitalised with the active support of the federal government and commitment of Wapda.
The prime minister said the Kachhi Canal project would change the destiny of the people of Dera Bugti, adding, “Pakistan owes to people of Sui as the entire country benefits due to their natural gas.” The prime minister assured the people of Dera Bugti that the issues of water and natural gas would be resolved on priority basis. He said Rs200 billion were being spent on various water projects in the province, while Rs25 billion power projects were underway. The prime minister said a huge amount of Rs455 billion was spent on roads and highways in Balochistan of which most of the projects had been completed.
The premier announced that Rs15 billion would be spent on providing natural gas to each district headquarter of the province. He said the federal government was establishing 29 universities in Balochistan, which would change the destiny of the people of the province. He said that after the completion of Gwadar Port, Balochistan would be the most prosperous province of the country. He requested the misled Baloch to renounce violence and put their share in the country’s development. He said the PML-N government during the last four years had spread a network of motorways and roads besides completing numerous power and gas projects due to which electricity and gas loadshedding had been minimised.
The premier said no attention was given to water resources in the past but the PML-N government had started some gigantic hydropower projects that include Diamer Bhasha Dam, Munda Dam, Kurram-Tangi Dam, Dasu Dam, extension of Tarbela-4-5, adding that these projects would change the destiny of the country. The prime minister on the occasion announced a number of development schemes for Dera Bugti which include setting up of a 50-bed hospital at a cost of Rs100 million, Rs110 million Rescue Centre, Rs10 million scholarships for 60 students of Dera Bugti and Rs40 million upgradation project of intermediate college to degree level.
Prime Minister Abbasi inaugurated flow of water from Kachhi Canal. Chief Minister Balochistan Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri, federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Abdul Qadir Baloch, Syed Javed Ali Shah, Jam Kamal, Dostain Khan Domki, acting president PML-N Senator Sardar Yaqoob Nasir, MNA Khalid Hussain Magsi, Balochistan provincial ministers and senior officials were also present. Chairman Wapda Muzamil Hussain briefed the premier on the Kachhi Canal. The canal will irrigate 72,000 acres of barren yet cultivable land in the far-flung and backward areas of Dera Bugti. With the completion of Kachhi Canal (Phase-I), water infrastructure and irrigated agriculture have achieved a landmark. Work on Kachhi Canal started 15 years ago and was almost an abandoned project owing to gross cost overrun and long delays. However, the project was revitalised due to active support of the federal government and commitment of Wapda. The project has now finally been completed at the cost of about Rs80 billion.
Meanwhile, important decisions were taken in the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting that was held at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and was chaired by Prime Minister Abbasi.
The prime minister directed that the Inter-Ministerial Committee should regularly review the sugar stock, export and price mechanism and make recommendations to the ECC in case of any abnormal price increase in the domestic market. The meeting reviewed the impact of Prime Minister’s Export Package towards boosting the country’s exports. The Export Package worth Rs180 billion provides incentives to exporters of textile and non-textile sectors for enhancing their export potential.
The meeting noted that the package has contributed significantly towards putting the country’s exports into growth trajectory. The meeting also considered various proposals for expanding the scope of Export Package and to include other sectors into its folds.
The ECC noted the availability of 2.788 million metric tonnes of sugar in the country and authorised the Commerce Ministry to allow export of 0.5mmt sugar to sugar mills. The ECC also approved grant of extension in processing period of export of wheat/wheat products from August 31, 2017 to October 03, 2017. The meeting also approved a proposal by the Petroleum Division to reallocate upto 15mmcfd Jhal Magsi gas to M/s OGDCL and to allow its sale to any third party selected through competitive bidding process under a term Gas and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) after fulfilling gas requirement of Jhal Magsi town.
