‘Democrats’ calling on army to oust govt: PM

Ag APP

ISLAMABAD: Taking aim at the opposition alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said “self-proclaimed democrats” were calling on the army to topple the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government .

“Their [the opposition’s] goal is to protect their interests and they are willing to do anything to overthrow the government because they have billions of dollars,” Khan said at a ceremony where ground was broken on the Lodhran-Multan road.

He said the country’s economic turnaround has dropped the curtains on the bad days and heralds an era of economic growth, wealth creation and jobs for the youth.

“I believe we are through the worst times. Insha’Allah, in the coming days, Pakistan’s growth will not be turbulent with up and down cycles. Pakistan will start its journey from when it was the fourth largest economy in Asia in 1968 after Japan, China and India,” he said.

The Prime Minister, who earlier unveiled the plaque to launch work on the two-lane road, said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had built three times more roads than the previous regime which was “known only for constructing roads”.

He went on to describe the uphill struggle his newly formed government had faced. Khan said within days of assuming power, the “opposition and media” started questioning the Naya Pakistan concept and foresaw the government’s failure. He said the PTI also faced criticism from the opposition, which threatened to topple the government unless their leaders were given an NRO (concessions).

“My own people had to face a tough time. The media also gave the impression that Naya Pakistan could emerge with a flick of a switch,” he said. The Prime Minister said it always takes time to change the status quo as the mafias resist such movements to protect their interests.

Similarly, the opposition also yearned for the government’s failure “to protect their laundered money and properties abroad”. He said the rule of law was the only factor behind nations’ success, as all developed countries have no room for mafias as everyone is accountable before the law.

He said the government took a year to stabilise the economy and in its second year it was hit by the pandemic “but managed well by maintaining a balance between lives and livelihood”.

Now, the Prime Minster said, since the economy had seen a turnaround, the government was focusing on the agriculture sector by ensuring timely and reasonable payments to farmers who also got a bumper crop this year.

Moreover, the government was about to announce a special package for farmers in addition to promoting the industrial sector through special economic zones to boost exports. Similarly, he said the IT sector was also in the government’s focus to exploit its immense potential as India was earning around $80 billion from IT exports. Khan said the construction of 10 dams was in progress to produce clean energy and utilise the 50,000-megawatt potential of hydropower.

Furthermore, for the first time, trees were being planted on a massive scale under the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami and new national parks being developed, he added.

He said as the Covid-19 curve is on a downward trend, particularly after vaccinations had begun, the government will work towards boosting the tourism sector which has the potential to increase foreign reserves “remarkably”.

Referring to the government’s incentives for the construction sector, the Prime Minister said banks had received demand of Rs60 billion loans for low-cost houses from people “who could never imagine owning a house”.

He said the government was also considering entities other than banks to exclusively disburse housing loans.