Pakistan has come out of danger of default: PM Shehbaz

KARACHI, July 26 (SABAH): Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan has come out of danger of default and those who used to run country through magic ultimately failed.

This was stated by Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif while addressing a ceremony held in connection with the distribution of laptops and cheques for youth business loans. He further said with support from allies, a mechanism would be formulated to be equally funded by centre and provinces for distribution of laptops.

He said that if given a mandate in next general elections, his next government would distribute around one million laptops across the country annually as part of the vision to support the talented youth.

“This is how the revolution will come… This is the only way to make the nation progress,” the Prime Minister remarked. The ceremony was also attended by Sindh governor, chief minister, federal ministers, MQM leaders, provincial ministers, diplomats, and representatives of bankers.a

He said youths from across the country needed to be equipped with education and provided maximum resources for country’s swift progress. Mentioning the launch of the capital venture initiative for freelancers on Tuesday, he lauded the youngsters’ talent for developing the projects like converting banana peels into different products and drones for agricultural use.

He said it would be sheer injustice if the talented youths were not provided with the required resources as they were the guarantee for the country’s prosperity.

He said the incumbent government was in the process of distributing 100,000 laptops announced for the fiscal 2022-23 while the provision for another 100,000 laptops had been made in the budget 2023-24 which would be distributed purely on merit, without any nepotism.

He further said the caretaker government should also ensure the merit in laptops’ distribution keeping the excellence and enrollment in public sector universities as the only merit.

He maintained through hand-holding, the talented youths could bring in billions of dollars to the country within a short span of time which other industries could not do. The prime minister also thanked the commercial banks for distributing Rs30 billion among youth within a few months in the form of business loans.

Calling the existing volume of loans insufficient, Shehbaz Sharif called for formulating a policy to make it mandatory for the banks to extend loan facilities to youth, farmers, and small shopkeepers. He said the previous government gave away $3 billion in loans to business tycoons without thinking of the youngsters.

He also called for national unity and concerted efforts to rid the country of poverty as a robust mechanism in the form of a Special Investment Facilitation Council had already been established with a view to putting the country on the course towards economic restructuring and reforms. He said the country could never progress without curbing corruption, power, and gas theft.

PM Shehbaz Sharif lauded Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for carrying out youth welfare projects and Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori for arranging courses for the youngsters at the Governor House. He also thanked Minister for IT and Telecommunications Syed Aminul Haq for his hard work in the ministry to move the projects forward as well as SAPM Shaza Fatima Khawaja.