Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says government’s focused and coordinated efforts helped pull Pakistan back from the brink of economic collapse and steered it towards stability through reforms.
He was talking to a delegation of overseas Pakistani students selected for the government’s internship program “Uraan Pakistan – Summer Scholars” in Islamabad today (Saturday).
The Prime Minister praised the “Uraan Pakistan – Summer Scholars” internship program as a commendable initiative under the broader “Uraan Pakistan Programme”.
He expressed the confidence that experience of the selected students over the coming months would help them understand the complexities and challenges of governance.
Turning to recent economic challenges, the Prime Minister recalled that when he took office last year, Pakistan had just averted the threat of default.
Recalling his visit to Paris in June 2023 as a Prime Minister of the PDM government, Shehbaz Sharif said it was global consensus that Pakistan was on the brink of default. However, after a detailed discussion with the Managing Director of the IMF, Pakistan managed to avoid default.
The Prime Minister said when he took oath as a Prime Minister last year, the economy was in poor shape, with inflation at thirty-eight percent, and policy rate at twenty-two point five percent, low foreign direct investment and average remittances.
He credited teamwork and commitment for the recent economic turnaround, pointing out that the policy rate has now dropped to eleven percent, encouraging the investment in the country.
The Prime Minister highlighted his personal involvement in launching and finalizing the “Uraan Pakistan Programme”.
He mentioned chairing weekly meetings over the past sixteen months to reform the Federal Board of Revenue including removing corrupt officers and appointing capable ones, as well as pursuing digitization of the institution.
Calling investment in youth development as a priority, Shehbaz Sharif mentioned his previous tenure as Chief Minister of Punjab in which 400,000 laptops were distributed on merit and educational stipends worth twenty billion rupees were provided.
He said the federal government has launched Pakistan Education Endowment Fund, which will be used to support high-quality education for youth.
On climate change, the Prime Minister said Pakistan is among the ten vulnerable countries affected by its hazardous impacts. He said Pakistan suffered thirty billion dollars losses caused by the 2022 floods.
Commenting on recent Pakistan-India tensions, he said Pakistan had no link with Pahalgam incident. He said Pakistan offered an investigation, but India did not respond. Subsequently, on night of May 6 and 7, India attacked Pakistan, resulting in the martyrdom of fifty-five innocent Pakistanis.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan responded with full force, downing six Indian planes and taught India a lesson of life.
He reaffirmed that Pakistan’s nuclear program is solely for self-defence and not aggression.
