Prime Minister
Speaking in the
He saluted the sacrifices of the 'heroes of
The prime minister further said the terrorists, armed with weapons, had arrived with nefarious designs to take people at the PSX as hostage, but the police and security personnel frustrated their plan.
Prime Minister
He said the authority vested with a person like him was a temporary thing, but the adherence to lofty ideas and continuation of struggle were key to surmount all ordeals.
Coming hard upon the opposition parties, the prime minister wondered why they had been opposing his government as some among them were claiming of being 'liberals' while the others were brandishing their 'religious' clout. They had only one agenda to cover up their corruption.
'They are out to pull down the government so that their misdeeds of corruption and graft should not surface. They have such fears lurking in their minds,' he said declaring that no one could pull down his government unless they stood by their stance and principles.
'The ups and downs are common spectacles in one's long and hard struggle, but one should not surrender one's aims and ideas,' he stressed.
The prime minister said he lived in his own house and was bearing all his domestic expenditures without fear of losing the office.
The opposition's hopes of 'minus one' could not succeed, and in case he did not remain in office, the other members of his party (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) would not spare those elements tainted with corruption and money laundering cases, he added.
As regards
While about
The governments of
The prime minister said the opposition parties were hoping to get any NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) like legislation to evade legal proceedings, but they would not get any as the two NROs granted by Musharraf in the past had caused irreparable losses to the country and destroyed the very fabric of society.
The prime minister said he had promised the nation about his vision of the State of Madina, in which the downtrodden and poor segments of society were lifted and taken care of.
Deflating the opposition leaders' criticism, he said he did not mind their words and cited a maxim 'mind over matter'.
'Indeed, such leaders are liberally corrupt,' the prime minister maintained and regretted that for decades such-like leaders in order to save their skin had been repeatedly pronouncing during the US visits that they were the only liberals while the others were hardliners.
'Take out all my statements about the State of Madina, which had been consistent,' he said, adding for the first time he had told the
He said Holy Prophet
The prime minister also referred to
All his documents later proved as fake in the Supreme Court, including the Qatari letter, he said, adding when the leader of the country lied about his money laundering and plundering of the public money what kind of moral values they had cultivated and what message they sent abroad.
The people like
He said the prime minister, foreign minister and defence minister all had been working as employees abroad, which even did not happen in a banana republic. They were not being paid with salaries but something else.
How the country's burden of loan ballooned from
About the fiscal budget, the prime minister appreciated his economic team by saying that presentation of budget in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic was the most difficult task.
The revenue collection, which was set as about
Mentioning the impacts of lockdown, he said the provinces enjoyed autonomy after the adoption of 18th Constitutional Amendment, but in case they had sought his approval for a complete lockdown like in Sindh province, he would not have surely acceded to it.
After witnessing the lockdowns in
He said
The prime minister also defended his stance over smart lockdown, which, he said, was the only option to face the pandemic and economic hardships.
He also appreciated his Special Assistant Dr Sania Nishtar and his team for distribution of huge amounts under the flagship Ehsaas programme in the shortest time and in a most transparent manner.
Terming the generation of revenues another huge challenge,
The prime minister also stressed upon introduction of reforms in the government-owned bleeding and loss making entities and corporations, including the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) and the
He also termed the accumulation of power sector circular debt a huge liability inherited from the past regimes.
He said all the entities required drastic changes and reforms, and indicated that the government was ready for such changes.
Those elements would resist such steps, who had been taking advantage from the status quo and corruption, he said and cited the PIA, which had been once a pride of the nation but was now running into massive losses due to certain mafias.
In 11 years, he said, its 10 chief executives had been changed while the incumbent was dragged into legislation, he said.
The prime minister termed the reforms imperative for the power sectors, Railways, PSM and PIA. He said in the Pakistan Steel Mills, the government had alone paid
In the first year of his government, he said, out of record
He said there were cartels in different sectors and cited the working of such coterie in the sugar business in which a set clique made windfall profits but shied from sharing their responsibilities towards the country and the countrymen by paying taxes.
Expressing his resolve, the prime minister said it was his government's mission that all cartels would be made answerable before the law.
The monopolies and cartels, he said, could not function without the patronizing of the past governments.
He said inquires would be held into all sectors and the government would trace all the elements, who had looted the country.
The prime minister also lauded the services of doctors, medical staff, paramedical staff and workers, and assured that the government would fully assist them. He also thanked the allied parties, minorities' representatives and women legislators for their support in the passage of the fiscal budget.
© Pakistan Press International, source