Stamping out terrorism must for foreign investment in country: PM

Addressing special meeting of federal cabinet, PM said that journey of development and prosperity will now gain further momentum

ISLAMABAD: As the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) coalition government completed its one year in power, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday vowed to eliminate terrorism from the country to pave the way for foreign investment in the country. He said the culture of hate speech and toxicity also must be eliminated; instead of pulling each other down we must work together for country’s progress. He said and the army chief visited friendly nations to secure support.

Addressing a special meeting of federal cabinet, the prime minister said that the journey of development and prosperity will now gain further momentum. He emphasised that Pakistan will truly soar only when the complete eradication of extremism is achieved. Security forces and law enforcement agencies were making unforgettable sacrifices for the establishment of peace, with our soldiers and officers laying down their lives daily.

For the first time in the country’s history, the meeting of the federal cabinet was witnessed by people from different sections of the society and media persons present in the Convention Centre.

The prime minister highlighted that in the past, terrorism had been nearly eradicated, but it resurfaced due to certain actions. He questioned who allowed terrorists to return and who facilitated their comeback.

The prime minister praised the bravery of security forces and law enforcement personnel, who are risking their lives to eliminate terrorists. He noted that while these sacrifices leave their own children orphaned, they save millions of children from becoming orphans. This, he said, is an eternal tale of sacrifice. He asserted that once terrorism is eliminated, investment will flow into the country, and Pakistan will reclaim its lost stature among the nations of the world. While the task is difficult, it is not impossible, and it requires relentless day and night efforts.

He emphasised the need to increase income, attract investment, and reduce reliance on loans. Economic development, he said, would drive Pakistan’s progress, honour, and dignity. He also pointed out the importance of eradicating the culture of hate speech and toxicity that has been associated with terrorism, calling it a poison that must be eliminated.

He reiterated that the nation must work tirelessly to achieve these goals, ensuring a brighter and more prosperous future for Pakistan. “For the first time in the country’s history, all institutions are united, setting aside personal agendas and working together with complete focus for national development.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that federal ministers and government officials have worked day and night to fulfill the IMF programme. He said that all the macroeconomic indicators were on the high scale and asked the cabinet members to work hard with dedication and commitment as these were prerequisite for making Pakistan one trillion economy till the year 2035.

Some cabinet members also presented performance of their ministries in the last one year.

Shehbaz lauded the performance of his cabinet members during the last one year and urged them to continue contributing towards economic stability with their untiring efforts as all the economic indicators were showing a positive trajectory.

He also thanked leadership of all the coalition partners in the government for their support in the most difficult times.

During his speech, the prime minister also criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) politics without naming it with particular reference to writing a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in an attempt to stop Fund’s programme for the country.

He also mentioned that during the last one year, it was a matter of satisfaction that neither a single case of corruption had surfaced nor a single allegation in this regard was leveled by the opposition. He highlighted that friendly countries have provided full cooperation in arranging $5 billion under the IMF’s conditions. Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir has also played a significant role in improving the economy, and together, they visited friendly nations to secure support.

The Prime Minister mentioned that Saudi Arabia recently extended the $1.2 billion oil facility, and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has also rolled over $2 billion in financial support.

The prime minister emphasised that relentless effort and collaboration were key to steering the nation toward prosperity. He highlighted that foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $4 billion a year ago, have now reached $12 billion, showcasing the positive outcomes of collective efforts and economic reforms.

He said that the cabinet members should have to work hard to provide relief to hapless and financially weaker segments of the society with all kinds of assistance and compassion especially in the holy month of Ramazan, adding that the government had rolled out Rs20 billion Ramazan package to benefit four million deserving families through digital wallet system.

He underlined the need of plugging Rs850 billion losses incurred by the loss-making state owned enterprises terming them as’ bottomless pits’ which needed to be plugged, besides the need to end circular debt in the power sector. Shehbaz also reiterated Pakistan’s strong condemnation of Israel for closure of Gaza corridor for humanitarian assistance in the month of Ramazan. Also, the Kashmiri people in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) were also facing worst kind of brutalities, he added.

Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar also presented a book to the prime minister about the government’s one year performance.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said when they looked back, during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s economy was ranked 24th. “When we took reigns of the government, it was a big challenge due to prevailing economic conditions of the country but through a solid direction and economic policy implementation, Pakistan achieved the economic stability,” he said. He said diplomatic isolation was over, Pakistan became a member of the UNSC for the year 2025-26, adding, after a gap of 27 years, multilateral international conferences like SCO and girls’ education were held in Pakistan. He regretted that terrorism reversal policy by the government of an opposition party in the past had seen return of the hardcore terrorists and expressed the confidence that through Azm-e-Istehkam, they would eliminate terrorism from the country. Dar further said that over $20 billion investment by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Azerbaijan and other countries was in the pipeline.

Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, presenting an overview of the economy, said that Pakistan Stock Exchange had witnessed an increase of 71 percent return while the current account surplus was the highest in the last 20 years. He apprised that the plans for rightsizing of 43 ministries and their 400 attached departments were afoot, whereas pension reforms and agriculture tax were introduced for the first time. He said the FBR revenue had surged by 26 percent while the other major steps included the introduction of faceless assessment system which saw revenues up by 60 percent in shortest time, he added. Aurangzeb said all the international monetary institutions had lauded economic achievements of the incumbent government in Pakistan.

Minister for Power Awais Ahmed Leghari briefed the meeting about the comprehensive reforms, saying that these efforts had resulted in reduction of Rs151 billion industrial cross subsidy. Till February 25, price of per unit had been reduced to Rs4.96 benefitting the consumers and industry alike. He said that performance of 104 IPPs was evaluated after which agreements with 14 were reviewed, five inefficient IPPs were terminated and agreements for eight bagasse plants had been reached, which resulted in Rs1,333 billion lifetime savings. The minister further said that from Bijli Sahulat Package, industries and the consumers were taking maximum benefits, besides a plan was devised to get rid of the circular debt. He also highlighted the progress on solarization of tubewells in Balochistan province, adding that out of 27,000 tube wells, 4,000 had been converted to solar thus the project would save about Rs100 million losses to power sector in the province.

Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja also presented a report about the performance of her ministry saying that 15 million new broadband subscribers were added while telecom sector was contributing Rs341 billion to the national economy. Revenues had increased to Rs955 billion.

Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif said the last one year of the government was like a journey to rise from the ashes. He said an opposition party who had enjoyed power in the past, had policies which did not sync with the national interests. The same party was out to create chaos in the country and inviting foreigners to interfere in the internal matters of the country, he added. Asif said their government had provided a hope to the people and said that they would overcome all the challenges.

Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal expressed the confidence that with continuation of ‘Uraan Pakistan’ programme, they would achieve the roadmap with five corridors of growth under the guidance of the prime minister. Reports were also presented about performance of the Interior Ministry, curbing of smuggling, Green Pakistan Initiative and SIFC contributing towards agriculture and livestock sectors of the country.