Islamabad (Web Desk/Agencies): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the coalition government and the national institutions are in unprecedented harmony and cooperation to serve the better national interests and steer the country out of prevailing challenges.
Addressing the Ulema-Mashaikh Conference in Islamabad, said that the country never needed unity and national harmony more, and he had never seen such a level of cooperation between a political government and the institutions throughout his political career.
Appreciating the efforts and support extended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir, also attending the moot, the premier said that such exemplary collaboration was a role model for the future.
He said that the challenges pervading the country necessitated learning lessons from past weaknesses and mistakes and making sincere efforts to develop Pakistan as a country as was dreamt by the forefathers and sacrificed hundreds of thousands of lives during the Pakistan Movement.
“The nation, which was about to celebrate its 77th Independence Day on August 14, is yet to find its destination, but the goal is achievable provided the dedicated efforts are made and the teachings of Quran and Sunnah are followed,” the premier said.
He called for the efforts to wipe out Fitna al Khawarij, a term referring to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which he said was involved in anti-Pakistan activities despite claiming to be a Pakistani.
PM Shehbaz also slammed the use of social media to spread lies and propaganda, particularly after 2018, instead of appreciating the government’s efforts for public services.
“Even the army soldiers, who sacrificed their lives to protect millions of other children from being orphaned, are being humiliated on social media,” he said.
Calling the May 9 attacks “the most heart-wrenching” incident in the country’s history, the prime minister highlighted that the characters behind the tragedy of 1971 met their fate in Bangladesh amidst the recent developments in the country.
He urged the Ulema to play their role to do away with the division in the society and highlight the Islamic economic system, saying that no force can obstruct the country’s development if the nation is determined to achieve its goal.
PM Shehbaz told the gathering that the government was making all-out efforts to address the economic challenges and expected the upcoming International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to be the last one. At the same time, it had scraped Rs50 billion to support the power consumers of the protected category consuming up to 200 units. But the consumers using 200-500 units of electricity were still under the burden, he added.
However, the premier assured the gathering that the coalition government and the COAS were in consultation to work out a comprehensive plan to ease the inflation-stricken people and the provinces would soon announce their respective plans in this regard.
PM Shehbaz said that the IMF programme was a compulsion to bring economic about stability, productive employment and reforms in the Federal board of Revenue (FBR) and power sector.