Dual nationals are not traitors: PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Billing overseas Pakistanis as the biggest asset of the country, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday regretted that they and dual nationals were considered traitors and seen with suspicion.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of Roshan Digital Account (RDA) here, the prime minister said that the biggest asset of the country was the overseas Pakistanis and we have not been able to take advantage of this huge asset yet. He said when India and China started making progress, the first investment came from their overseas people.

The premier pointed out that those who saw these Pakistanis with suspicion, might not be as big patriots as those who were sitting abroad, being the biggest resource pool yet to be tapped by creating suitable conditions for them. “The way we were supposed to bring back these assets to Pakistan andhelp these people build the nation, unfortunately, has not happened yet,” he said.

The prime minister regretted that in Pakistan, it was debated that a dual national could not be given any post or could not become a minister and very other day, people would approach courts. “I am surprised people have not yet understood that they talk and think this way,” he remarked.

The premier gave the example of specialised cancer hospital, Shaukat Khanum Cancer Memorial Hospital, which was made operational when overseas Pakistani experts returned to the country, whereas in the Middle East any specialised cancer hospital was being run on the basis of mostly foreigners. He then also cited the examples of Dubai and Emirate Airlines.

Imran Khan said that the Roshan Digital Account was the first big step in this direction and it would give Pakistanis the opportunity to participate in the country's businesses, such as our construction projects, Ravi River Front Urban Development Project and Bundal Islands construction project. He said the Ravi Project was one of the two biggest projects in the history of Pakistan. While the Bhasha Dam, Mohmand Dam and ML-1 project were also included, thanks to which new railways would be constructed for the first time in the history of Pakistan.

Imran Khan said that besides this “we are also building two big cities one of which is being built in Sindh and the other in Lahore and in all these we have to involve overseas Pakistanis”.

The prime minister explained, “Our changes are that we are so indebted that no matter how much we collect, half of it goes into debt payments, so what is left for the country is not enough. The only way is to do economic activities in the country so that we have enough money to repay the loans and for that we have a construction package which aims to have such economic activities in these two big cities that the wheel of the economy would run and the revenue will increase.”

The prime minister noted that about 9 million Pakistanis went out because they could not find jobs. “The other thing was that the qualification of some had become so high that we do not have suitable jobs for them and if there were jobs then we could not pay them accordingly,” he said.

“Whenever we create better resources in the country, these are the people who can come back and serve the country, but they are treated strangely,” he added. Meanwhile, Imran Khan expressed satisfaction over the current situation of availability of wheat in the country and regular release of wheat by Punjab, directing for making timely advance arrangements for future needs.

The prime minister said that along with abundant availability of wheat, ensuring reasonable prices was also the top priority of the government so that the people do not face any difficulty in getting basic food.

In this connection, he chaired a high level meeting on availability and prices of wheat and sugar. It was decided at the meeting that wheat would be imported from the private sector as well as TCP to ensure ample supply.

Meanwhile, a meeting of National Coordination Committee for Housing, Construction and Development was chaired by Imran Khan here. During the meeting, detailed briefing was given on River Ravi Front Urban Development Project and Bundle Island projects and on the scope of the projects and the best investment opportunities available to them.

The country's major investors in the construction sector have expressed keen interest in both projects. The businessmen appreciated the dynamic role of the SBP governor in providing facilities to the banks.

Punjab chief secretary presented timelines to the Prime Minister regarding the rescheduling of master plans for Lahore as well as major cities of Punjab including Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, DG Khan, Sialkot and Sahiwal.

Meanwhile, the prime minister chaired a meeting on ensuring quality of industrial products in the country. Stressing on the importance of ensuring the quality of products, the prime minister said that quality concerns are a major impediment to the growth of exports of domestic products. He directed that special emphasis be laid on minimising human interference in the quality check system.