Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says he will hand over the government to caretaker set-up next month.
In his address to the nation on Thursday evening, he said the people of Pakistan had bestowed him with the responsibility of heading the coalition government in April last year, which he is going to relinquish next month.
The Prime Minister said the coalition government, in a short span of just 15 months, did not leave any stone unturned to provide employment to the youth and relief to the people against the rising inflation in the country. He said it was a journey from pessimism to optimism, instability to stability and toward media freedoms and civil liberties.
Shehbaz Sharif recalled that the current coalition government was one of its kinds in the history of Pakistan, which accepted big challenges and put the country in the right direction, despite difficulties. He said the coalition partners preferred to save interests of the state by putting their political objectives at stake.
He said we successfully foiled conspiracies of the anti-state elements and managed to revive the IMF programme. He especially thanked China, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates for their timely cooperation and help in this critical time. He said the people of Pakistan will not forget their cooperation.
The Prime Minister also commended efforts of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir for strengthening economy and improving country’s financial outlook.
He said the time has come when we have to think of getting rid of loans and move toward self-reliance as there is no other option. He said the coalition government has framed a comprehensive programme for economic revival under the banner of Special Investment Facilitation Council, focusing agriculture, energy, Information Technology, mining and defence production. The prime objective of SIFC is to attract Foreign Direct Investment.
He assured that federal and the provincial governments as well as all the institutions will pursue this goal with whole of the government approach. He emphasized the need to break the begging bowl and to make Pakistan self-sufficient in all fields to ensure sustainable development.
Highlighting his government’s achievements in 15 months, Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan’s human rights index has improved by seven points, while international financial rating agencies have also acknowledged country’s financial outlook. He said investors’ confidence is gaining momentum, while Pakistani rupee is appreciating. He further said that a massive package of two thousand billion rupees was announced for the agriculture sector, which is backbone of the economy.
The Prime Minister expressed the resolve that if voted to power they will continue providing jobs to youth as well as eliminating darkness of power load shedding and the menace of inflation. He said the journey of development and progress initiated by the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will again be resumed.
