APS tragedy united nation against terrorism: Shahbaz Gill

PESHAWAR: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill here on Wednesday said the horrific tragedy of Army Public School (APS) Peshawar had united nation against terrorism and it was the supreme sacrifices of APS students, their teachers and our valiant soldiers that helped restore peace to the country.

Speaking at a press conference along with Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Information and Higher Education Kamran Bangash, Dr Shahbaz Gill said the entire nation had stood up for martyred students of APS, their teachers and families after terrorists had attacked their school six years ago and the national unity foiled the nefarious designs of evil forces.

“Six years ago, there was a terrorist attack on APS and innocent people were killed in suicide blasts but today we are talking about economic growth and development due to return of durable peace,” he said.

Following elimination of terrorism, he said, the government was now focusing on economic development which was imperative for alleviation of poverty and generation of employment opportunities. “Today the prime minister is going to inaugurate a number of mega development projects in Peshawar and Nowshera district,” he added.

He said the opposition was united to protect its vested interest and to get NRO by pressuring the government through agitation and holding flopped rallies. He asked Maulana Fazlur Rahman of JUI to tender apology to people of southern districts over his indecent remarks against Pakhtun tribes, adding his (Maulana Fazl) remarks showed his deep frustration after his politics was rejected by people even in his stronghold.

He said the sugar commission’s inquiry report has exposed opposition’s malpractices and such elements were now hiding from people. Shahbaz Gill said despite Covid-19, the country’s economy has started moving upward as evident from significant increase in production of urea, textile, cement, pharmaceutical and vehicles.

He said last October, a record increase of 11.3 percent was registered in production of pharmaceuticals and 25 percent in cement besides 10.7percent in vehicles besides other industrial sectors as result of goal-oriented policies of the government.

Gill said it was ironic that opposition who were earlier advocating for complete lockdown due to coronavirus in the first phase were now busy with holding rallies, putting the lives of thousands of people in danger and undermining the rising economic growth.

Gill added that the Punjab government had received allocations for setting up of five new cement units in different cities including DG Khan, Jhelum and Khushab which was testimony of an upward growth of the construction industry in Pakistan.

He said construction projects on around 70 million square feet would be built that would generate employment to over three lakh in Punjab, adding these massive development projects have unnerved the opposition parties as they knew that if the PTI govt completed its five-year term the promise of generating employment opportunities for 10 million people would be fulfilled.

Shahbaz Gill said the PTI government was taking solid measures for socio-economic development of poor people, adding affordable housing projects were introduced in big cities to provide quality housing facilities to homeless and low income groups.

Of these, in Lahore, a project comprising 35,000 housing apartments would be built for poor people, adding each apartment would cost from Rs 2.5 million to Rs 2.7 million and the government would provide low interest loan on five percent to facilitate the poor to own houses.