Country’s future lies in strong democracy, says Shahbaz

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that there is no clash between state institutions in Pakistan.
Addressing a session held under the aegis of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London on Tuesday, the chief minister said the future of the country depended on stronger relations between democracy and democratic institutions. He said Pakistan cannot be made the Pakistan of the Quaid-e-Azam without eliminating prejudices, intolerance and extremism. An anchor of BBC World and writer of international repute Brant Jones acted as the host.
Shahbaz condemned the incident of terrorism in Paris. He said in the so-called war between communism and Islam during the 80s, Pakistan was made the frontline state and when the Soviet Union withdrew its forces from Afghanistan, Pakistan was left alone.
Shahbaz said as a result of this war, Pakistan received nothing except Kalashnikov and heroin culture and terrorism. He said that Pakistan had to face the burden of 30 lakh Afghan refugees. He said loadshedding will be overcome during 2017 and 2018. He said that presently Pakistan is facing a loss of two percent in annual growth rate. He said as a result of Zarb-e-Azab, terrorists had been weakened.
Meanwhile, Shahbaz met British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and discussed the security situation and matters relating to education, health and energy. He said Pak Army and the people had offered supreme sacrifices in the war against terrorism. Finance Minister Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, MNA Khusro Bakhtiar and Chief Minister’s Adviser Azmul Haq were also present.
Later, agreements were signed between the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) and two institutions of Britain. TEVTA Chairperson Irfan Qaiser Sheikh signed the document on the behalf of Punjab.
Meanwhile, addressing a meeting arranged by the Department for International Development, Shahbaz said the government wanted to remove the gap between rich and poor. Shahbaz said information technology was being used through smart phones for monitoring the performance of staff in health and education sectors. He said more than one lakh people facing financial constraints were serving the country as doctors, engineers and professional experts due to the endowment fund of Punjab government. He said quality educational facilities were available to 18 lakh students through voucher scheme of the Punjab government.
In his message on the International Day against AIDS, he said AIDS is a curable disease and its patients should contact treatment centers set up instead of hiding their disease. Shahbaz said collective efforts were needed for controlling AIDS. He said the Punjab government was spending a huge sum on prevention of AIDS and UN’s AIDS Control Program strategy was being implemented for curbing this disease.
Shahbaz congratulated the PML-N candidates on their victory in the local bodies’ elections in Islamabad. He said after the first and second phases, people had again voted for politics of decency, service and honesty in local bodies elections. He said elements that tried to create hurdles in the process of development through politics of sit-ins last year had been rejected by the people.