Poverty to be alleviated at any cost: Buzdar

LAHORE: Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said the nation would have not faced the difficult circumstances today, had economic dacoity not been committed in the past.

We want to eliminate poverty and deprivations at any cost, he added. In a statement issued here Friday, the chief minister said that efforts would be made to remove the reservations of the traders’ community despite difficulties and added that interests of the business community would be protected to every possible extent. The purpose of ostensibly difficult economic decisions is to wriggle the country out of economic difficulties so that it could become economically self-reliant. He said the bailout package of international financial institutions signified their trust in the government’s economic policies. Pakistan is moving towards peace and progress and the economy should be saved from any politics, he added. The purpose of hue and cry is to divert the attention from financial corruption but these elements will not succeed in their designs. We want to remove poverty and deprivations at any cost, he added.

Meanwhile, Sardar Usman Buzdar directed the provincial administration and line departments to remain vigilant in wake of rain spell. He directed that drainage system should be made functional and necessary machinery and other resources should be fully utilised for drainage of water from low-lying areas. The traffic should not be affected due to rains and steps should be made in advance to avoid traffic-jam like situation. He said that officials of administration and rescue agencies should personally monitor the relief work.

Moreover, the chief minister said that Islam presented the idea of social cooperation 1400 years ago through the innovative ‘Muakhaat-e-Madina’ and ‘Ansar’ and ‘Muhajir’ communities presented a unique example of mutual cooperation which is worth-following even today. In his message, the chief minister said that we should reiterate our commitment that cooperative agencies will be running according to their true spirit so that more needy people could be benefited. The cooperative agencies should perform according to the golden principle of mutual help so that this social movement could be continued in society.

He said that Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited was providing billions of rupees agriculture loans facility to the members of cooperative societies on easy terms and the Punjab government was also working hard to bring ease in the lives of the people from different walks of life, including the farmers through this beneficial movement. One example of this is the provision of interest-free tractors to the members of cooperative societies in 13 barani districts of the province. He said that important changes were being introduced in the organisations working in the field of agriculture, housing and industry, etc so that their performance could be transformed according to the present-day conditions.

The PTI government is also working to make this movement a beneficial option for every sector of life, he concluded.

Budget: Provincial Minister for Communication and Works Sardar Muhammad Asif Nakai has said that public-friendly budget has started a new era of genuine development and prosperity in the country.

It is for the first time in the history of the country that lavish expenditures of the rulers has been done away with and resources are being spent on the prosperity of the people of backward areas, the minister said while talking to a delegation of PTI office-bearers and workers at his office on Friday.

The minister said an example had been set by starting the austerity drive from Chief Minister’s Office. It is imperative to control expenditures to save the economy from the burden of loans, he added. He stated said, “We are the custodian of national kitty and every penny would be spent on public welfare.