Provinces should not throw the masses into difficult situation as sufficient stock of wheat is present in country: PM Shehbaz
ISLAMABAD, Jan 11 (SABAH): Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has emphatically stated that the reconstruction and rehabilitation of flood-affected areas will be made a successful model by ensuring complete transparency in utilization of funds, pledged at the Climate Resilient Pakistan Conference in Geneva. He said that the provinces should not throw the masses into difficult situation as sufficient stock of wheat is present in the country. He said that the flour is a provincial matter, adding that the provinces have to release the wheat to flour mills, adding that instead of presence of sufficient stocks of the wheat the provinces are not performing their responsibilities. He said that if the provinces are not releasing the wheat then the media should ask this question from provinces.
PM Shehbaz Sharif was addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Wednesday flanked by the cabinet members of the coalition government including Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari,
Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for National Food Security and Research Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema, Minister for Communications Maulana Asad Mahmood, Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb. Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Shaheera Shahid was also present on the occasion.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said that Tariq Bashir Cheema has already taken the nation into confidence regarding the matter of flour, adding that he has asked the food minister to again tell the facts about the flour to nation today (Thursday). He said that the sufficient stock of wheat according to the needs of the nation are present, adding that we have imported the wheat while spending billions of dollars. He said that it is matter of regret that the provinces are not fulfilling their responsibilities regarding the release of the wheat to the flour mills and some mills are also involved in the malpractices. PM Shehbaz Sharif said that we will review the legal and constitutional steps available with the federal government so that we could tell the provinces to not put the masses into difficulty while fearing God.
The Prime Minister said we will not disappoint the nation and each penny will be utilized in a transparent manner for rehabilitation of the flood affected people and reconstruction of damaged homes and other infrastructure including roads and bridges.
Shehbaz Sharif said the process of third party validation will be pursued for this purpose which will send a strong message to donors and lenders.
The Prime Minister said no effort will be spared to achieve our reconstruction targets as best as possible. He said modern technology and methods will be used to ensure a robust and resilient infrastructure.
Describing the pledges of 9.7 billion dollars made by the friendly countries and financial institutions at Geneva Conference as a big achievement, the Prime Minister said this is also manifestation of the confidence and trust of the world community in the people and coalition government of Pakistan.
He said if the international community would have any doubts or given ears to the propaganda of our opponents, they would not have pledged this huge amount.
He said the whole world saw itself the expression of solidarity, brotherhood and unity on the part of Pakistan at Geneva moot. He said the provinces were taken along which presented their case at the conference.
PM Shehbaz Sharif was highly appreciative of the support announced by the friendly countries at the moot.
Alluding to one billion dollar pledge made by Saudi Arabia, he said the fraternal country always stood by Pakistan in difficult times.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said the world reposed trust in Pakistan and pledged worth over $9 billion in flood aid despite indiscriminate propaganda by the rivals — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The premier said the government would continue to help the people affected by cataclysmic floods till their complete rehabilitation.
“At the conference, pledges worth $9.7 billion were announced for the Pakistan flood victims,” the PM said, congratulating his federal ministers for the hard work they and their teams put in before this critical conference.
“Islamic Development Bank promised $4.2 billion, World Bank $2 billion, Saudi Arab $1 billion, Asian Infrastructure Development Bank $1 billion, Asian Development Bank $500 million, USAID $100 million, China $100 million, Italy €23 million, Japan $77 million, Qatar $25 million, UK £36 million, and France $10 million,” the prime minister said.
The premier said that the world reposed trust in Pakistan despite the worst propaganda against the government, crediting his team for the success. “The ball is now in our court. We now have to transparently spend every single penny on the people’s prosperity.”
He said the presence of the representatives of all the provinces at the conference sent the message to the world that “we are united”. “The global community showed confidence in the coalition government of Pakistan.”
The prime minister hailed Saudi Crown Prince Mohamad Bin Salman for his continuous assistance to Pakistan and generous support.
“The perception created by some people that the country is alone was busted as both the superpowers were standing right and left,” he added.
When asked about the conditions of these funds pledges at the conference, the prime minister said IDB’s terms will be soft.
He also rubbished the claim that the top functionaries of the provinces where the PTI is ruling were ignored by the PDM government.
“Sindh was the most affected province from the floods then comes Balochistan. Chief secretary was there to represent the provincial government.”
He said that there was no flood in Azad Jammu and Kashmir while Gilgit-Baltistan’s Ghaddar area was affected, adding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Finance Minster Taimur Jhagra was also present at the conference.
About the worsening law and order situation in KP, the prime minister said the National Security Committee (NSC) discussed the issue in detail.
“To restore peace in the country is the responsibility of federal and provincial government.”
He once again thanked the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres for forcefully pleading the case of Pakistan at the Geneva conference.
About his upcoming visit to the UAE, Shehbaz Sharif said he is visiting the Gulf state today (Thursday) and expressed confidence that it will help further augment bilateral relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile on the occasion Ishaq Dar revealed that almost 90 percent of pledges made by the international community at a donors’ conference in Geneva for flood-hit Pakistan were project loans that will be rolled out over the next three years.
Ishaq Dar said that $8.7bn of the pledges were loans. He did not reveal what the terms of these loans were. However, the prime minister said “we expect the terms to be lenient”.
Ishaq Dar highlighted that project loan financing had already crossed $8bn, which included commitments from the Islamic Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the World Bank.
“I am not incorporating the pledge made by the Saudi Development Bank on purpose here because it is not clear whether their announcement of $1bn pertains to programme lending or project loan,” Dar said.
Responding to a question on how soon he expects these pledges to turn into actual inflows, PM Shehbaz Sharif said that depended on “us”. “The faster we can design and create feasibilities and impress them [donors], the faster these pledges will materialise.”
During the presser, the finance minister also talked about a meeting he had with the IMF team on the sidelines of the Geneva moot, revealing that discussions over the already delayed ninth review for the release of $1.2 billion revolved around the government’s ability to meet the revenue targets previously determined for the ongoing fiscal year after the Federal Board of Revenue had failed to meet its target in December.
This gap in revenue collection was a result of a high court invalidating the super tax imposed by the government in June last year, according to the finance minister. He said that his team informed the IMF that Pakistan could recover the revenue shortfall in a staggered manner after the Supreme Court ruled on the super tax. “We are not changing the fiscal budget target and we will achieve it,” he asserted.
However, the IMF still wanted the government to take fiscal measures and cut back some subsidies, Dar added. “We have identified some fiscal measures but there will be no burden on the common man. They will be very targeted and categorical,” he assured.
He said the government would not burden the masses in the wake of any accord reached with the global lender.
Dar asked naysayers to stop spreading panic over “default” rumours, saying such elements must consider national interest above everything.
In his remarks, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Geneva Conference proved to be the success of our foreign policy, dispelling the impression that Pakistan is isolated. He said we had targeted to raise eight billion dollars from the conference but we surpassed this target, which is a befitting response to the negative propagandists.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said we will also have to manage fifty percent from our own resources for the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase, appealing to the people to come forward for the humanitarian assistance of flood victims who are still braving extreme weather conditions under the open skies.
The Foreign Minister assured the flood affected population that their recovery and rehabilitation is the mission of the government.
Bilawal Bhutto termed the PM’s foreign policy as “successful”, saying the government achieved “two targets with a single shot”. “When I say we achieved two targets simultaneously, it means we also dispelled a myth that Pakistan is isolated.”
Bilawal said the requirement of $16bn [for flood recovery] in times of Covid, as well as the crisis triggered by the Ukraine-Russia conflict, was “no joke”.
The minister regretted that the condition of flood-hit people was dismal at the moment as scores of them were living under the open sky without basic necessities. “We are striving harder to restore their lives to pre-flood time at the earliest,” he added. He said it was now time to put in concerted efforts and help flood victims to steer them out of the crisis.