KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reiterated that load shedding of electricity and gas will be eliminated from the country by 2018, and that a number of power projects are being executed in Hub, Port Qasim, Thar and other parts of the country.
As part of the government’s economic vision, efforts are underway to provide electricity at lower rates, the premier said while addressing the participants of an award ceremony at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday.
Speaking on the occasion, Nawaz Sharif reiterated his government’s commitment to progress and development of Pakistan at a fast pace, and said the nation must question those who were trying to push the country back to ages of darkness.
He said that when his government assumed the office, the KSE 100 index was at a level of 19,000 points, while now the world had recognised its full potential and the Pakistan Stock Exchange was ranked among the 10 best performing stock exchanges in the world.
He said the country’s foreign exchange reserves were continuously rising and had reached a record high level. The tax revenue collection has also increased by 60 percent, he added.
“All-out efforts are being made to improve the performance of public institutions,” the PM said, adding that the country was on the track of progress and prosperity.
The premier lauded the role of companies that had played a positive role in the stock market for the economic uplift of the country. He told the gathering that his government was doing a lot to improve the business environment in the country.
“Nationalisation in the 1970s had ruined the country. When we decided to privatise public institutions once again, we were told that ‘you are creating trouble for yourself’, but now these institutions are not only making profits but are also providing livelihood to thousands of people across the country,” Nawaz Sharif said. He said that the performance of the national flag carrier (PIA) would also be improved and “we will put it back on track”.
He also highlighted his government’s performance in the communications sector and said that special attention was being paid to upgradation of rail and road networks. “Groundbreaking of the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway will be performed very soon. Hyderabad-Karachi motorway will be completed by next year. With its completion, motorway network from Peshawar to Karachi will be a reality.”
Earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad welcomed the prime minister on his arrival at the Karachi airport. Soon after his arrival, the premier visited the house of Board of Investment Chairman Dr Miftah Ismail and met a group of rice exporters. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar accompanied the premier.
Online adds: Meanwhile, talking to a group of exporters, Nawaz Sharif said that boosting exports of the country was the top priority of the government. He said that economic growth and exports were interlinked. “We cannot afford to ignore our exports… The government will give short-, medium- and long-term relief to exporters so that no segment misses the growth targets.”
The prime minister said that exports were the future of our economy. “Our vision is to give dividends of economic turnaround to all stakeholders in an equitable manner.”
He said that increased economic activities and ease of doing business would result in reduction of unemployment and alleviation of poverty from the country.
Nawaz said that improved infrastructure of the Pakistan Railways would provide relief to the exporters in terms of reduction in freight charges. He said the landmark China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would further complement the benefits of improved railway infrastructure.
The prime minister said that special economic zones were being established under the CPEC to provide an ideal platform for facilitating the country’s exporters.
He directed the Ministry of Commerce to make arrangements for duty-free import of additional five million bales of cotton in the wake of low cotton exports. He said that a proposal in this regard should be made and presented before the federal cabinet at the earliest for approval.
The exporters lauded the economic turnaround achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and said that historic level of foreign exchange reserves coupled with improved security situation in the country had reinforced confidence of the exporters.
The exporters informed the premier that they had been making great efforts for increasing the country’s exports. They also hailed the government’s decision to import liquefied natural gas (LNG).
