Won’t be blackmailed even if govt goes: PM

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has given a clear and unequivocal message he will not be blackmailed by any pressure group, no matter his government stays or not.

The prime minister said this while chairing a meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Core Committee in which Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar gave a briefing on the meeting with Jahangir Tareen Group. According to national media, the premier said that the PTI’s entire political struggle was for the rule of law. “We believe in justice and the process of accountability will continue without any discrimination,” he said.

Imran Khan said that if overthrowing the government is someone’s goal then they should fulfil their desire.

“We will not back down from our manifesto due to the blackmailing of anyone. We will not give NRO to anyone to save government,” he said.

The prime minister said the local government elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be held this year. The premier instructed the chief ministers of Punjab and KP to hold the local government elections this year and make preparations for it.

Usman Buzdar said in the briefing that the provincial government would not take political revenge on any member of the assembly.

“We will address all legitimate reservations of our MPs,” he added.

The chief minister said the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other agencies are working independently on various cases. He said the Punjab government will not pressurise any investigative agency. The meeting also discussed the Azad Kashmir elections and Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur briefed the committee about the amendments in the relevant laws.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan directed immediate steps to remove obstacles to the issuance of long-term visas to foreign investors, especially Chinese investors, and consider introducing a separate category for those involved in the CPEC project.

The prime minister, who directed the Home Ministry to submit a summary to the cabinet in this regard, presided over a review meeting on the progress of CPEC projects and investment promotion. The meeting discussed in detail investment under CPEC project in the country, the facilities provided by the government to Chinese investors and in some cases the problems faced by investors and their immediate solutions. The forum considered setting up a green channel to facilitate investors.

The Board of Investment briefed the meeting in detail about the incentives being offered to Chinese investors.

The prime minister emphasised that barriers to investment should be removed on priority basis and all possible incentives should be given to investors. He directed the Board of Investment to formulate and present a detailed plan for the promotion of foreign investment to increase exports in certain sectors in consultation with the business community. The prime minister termed progress on special economic zones (SEZs) as satisfactory and at the same time decided to set up CPEC SEZ in Karachi. The prime minister said that the strategic partnership between China and Pakistan was unprecedented in the world. In order to transform these relations into strong economic ties, he emphasised, it was necessary to promote investment in areas of mutual interest and provide all possible incentives to investors. The prime minister said that CPEC was not only a harbinger of economic growth for Pakistan, but also a path to development for the entire region.