‘Pakistan emerges as growth model despite corona’

FAISALABAD: State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib Saturday said Pakistan had emerged as a growth model for the entire world as it had made unexpected achievements despite corona lockdowns.

Addressing a press conference at Ali Zaib Foundation Centre in General Hospital Ghulam Muhammadabad here, he said all economic indicators were positive and the stock exchange had recorded unprecedented surge, which was showing confidence of the investors in economic policies of the government.

He said that the volume of foreign investment had increased and the country had been put on the road to progress and development, and its benefits were being enjoyed by all stakeholders.

He termed the opposition alliance a group of divergent forces and said that instead of supporting the productive policies of the government, they were creating unnecessary hurdles. However, he added, they had failed in their designs. He said: “Our exports have recorded an increase of 13pc while 54pc increase was witnessed in sale of automobiles, 44pc in IT products, 40pc in cement and 9pc in large manufacturing group products.” He said the federal government provided Rs 1,600 to Rs 1,800 billion to Sindh under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, but it failed to use the huge financial support for the welfare and betterment of the masses. He lamented that children were facing malnutrition in interior Sindh. There was no vaccine in hospitals for dog-bite victims, and even the irrigation water being supplied to Sindh was stolen, he said and added that at Sukkur and Sindh got 16,000 cusecs of water, and out of it 8,000 cusecs water was stolen at Kotri. He said instead of improving the overall governance, Sindh had been surrendered to mafias, adding that the growers in Kotri could not sow paddy crop as the Sindh government failed to check the water theft. "Our efforts are to enhance exports," he said and added that the government would not give any NRO to the opposition parties, which were already facing clear division in their ranks.

He said that PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif should first focus on his party before forging unity in divergent forces gathered under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). Farrukh Habib said: “The parliament is the only platform where we can resolve our major national issues, but the opposition is ignorant of the fact and wasting its energies outside parliament to achieve its vested interests.” About dacoit gangs, he said the government would not allow the state within the state and elements treating the poor with oppression, particularly in far-flung rural areas, would not be tolerated at any cost, adding that these oppressive elements had their hideouts in Sulaiman Range for the last many years and no government took action against them. However, on the special directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the law-enforcing agencies had initiated a joint operation against outlaws, which would continue till their complete elimination. About the NGOs [non-governmental organisations], working in the health sector, he said these organisations were doing a commendable job and the government would continue to encourage and patronise them so that they could expand their scope of services.