Israeli model in IOK depicts fascist mindset of Modi govt: PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday denounced India’s call for an Israeli model in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), terming it a depiction of the fascist mindset of the Indian government’s RSS ideology, continuing the siege of IOK for over 100 days.

An image of Indian security forces standing alert in full ‘armory’ has also been put on the prime minister’s Twitter account. In the tweet, the prime minister called out the powerful countries for their silence over the gross human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir. He attributed their silence to their own trading interests (with India).

“Shows the fascist mindset of the Indian govt’s RSS ideology that has continued the siege of IOK for over 100 days, subjecting Kashmiris to the worst violation of their human rights while the powerful countries remain silent bec(ause) of their trading interests,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan directed for social protection survey, ensuring 100 percent coverage of the population in coordination with the local governments and local administration. The prime minister observed this while speaking here at a briefing regarding formulation of the National Socio-Economic Registry under the Ehsaas programme.

The prime minister emphasised that utmost transparency should be ensured in the survey process so that no deserving citizen of Pakistan was left out from the social welfare net and it must be achieved in the shortest possible time.

He said the government's flagship social protection programme Ehsaas aligns to the objective of poverty alleviation, education, food sustenance and health. The prime minister also emphasised that survey would have utility for other organisations as well like the Utility Stores for provision of food items to the deserving citizens and other social welfare organisations.

Prime Minister's Special Assistant Dr Sania Nishtar briefed the prime minister that a number of NGOs had been contracted for data collection and verification in all provinces. The meeting was briefed that a self-registration drive would also be initiated so that no deserving person is left out from the Ehsaas programme.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan said creation of job opportunities for youth and expediting economic process in the country was the top priority of the government. He said this while chairing a high-level meeting here regarding the start of various development projects in public-private partnership and expediting economic process in the country.

The prime minister said Pakistani youth was a valuable asset of the country and there was a need to utilise their talent in a positive manner and out of the box thinking is required for this purpose.

Imran Khan said development process could be accelerated by government facilitation of the private sector and utilising least resources in various fields like energy, infrastructure, tourism and communication. He said projects worth billions of rupees can be initiated in this way. He directed ministers and provincial chief secretaries to identify such development projects in their respective departments to start work on them by simplifying various laws and investing less financial resources. The prime minister directed to ensure partnership of private sector in development projects and said existing laws should be reviewed to provide maximum facilitation in this regard and remove bottlenecks to guarantee overwhelming particip- ation of the private sector.

He also highlighted the importance of capacity building of ministries and provincial departments. The meeting also identified various projects in energy, communication, aviation, tourism, logistics, technology, waste management, social sector, real estate and other sectors, where development projects can be materialised with partnership of private sector.

The forum was informed that the government was trying hard to promote public-private partnership. Meanwhile, Imran Khan reiterated his government's resolve to further improve the conducive environment for business community in order to accelerate the process of economic development.

The reiteration came as he chaired a meeting of government's economic team here at the PM Office. The prime minister said the country was experiencing economic stability due to government's efforts to restore the trust of investors and business community.

Terming overseas Pakistanis a great asset, the prime minister said all out steps will be taken for their facilitation. He said foreign remittances received from overseas Pakistanis are a milestone in national economy. He directed to ensure that remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis are received by their families without any deduction.

On this occasion, a proposed incentive package for overseas Pakistanis regarding transfer of foreign remittances through legal channels was presented to the prime minister. It contains proposals to give special incentives to banks and exchange companies to promote foreign remittances.

Representatives of Pakistan Post apprised the meeting that number of post offices for providing service offoreign remittances will be gradually increased to 3,200 from existing 240. Chairman Naya Pakistan Housing Authority briefed on the steps for promotion of housing sector in the country.

Meanwhile, the prime minister approved the establishment of Construction and Infrastructure Board to provide enabling requirement to construction industry. He was talking to a delegation of the Construction Association of Pakistan headed by Engineer Arshad Dad Khan here.

The prime minister said that the board would be instrumental in addressing the issues being faced by constructors. The prime minister also directed the secretary planning to formulate a construction development policy for facilitating all stakeholders including contractors, clients and consultants.

The premier observed that the government was focusing on employing technology and making the processes digital to reduce human interface, eliminate corruption and ensure transparency in all business activities. The delegation appreciated the vision of the prime minister in approving the construction sector as industry and the steps being taken by government towards meeting the existing demand for low-cost housing in the country.

It also proposed various steps to address issues being faced by constructors. These issues include establishment of Construction and Infrastructure Board, setting up of Office of Procurement Ombudsman, capacity building of local construction industry, revisiting tax regime, review of laws and audit procedures and lack of standardisation.