Govt successfully tackling major challenges confronting Pakistan, says PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said the government has achieved significant progress in tackling major challenges confronting the country.

Addressing 40th Export Awards ceremony of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the capital, the Prime Minister, the chief guest at the event, said Pakistan has faced several critical challenges in the past few years but the government has tackled them with vision and courage.

The Prime Minister said the government has been able to eliminate loadshedding for the industrial sector and will be able to root it out for domestic consumers by 2018.

“Governments that came and went during 2008-2013 promised many times that loadshedding would be eliminated within six months, but nothing was done,” he said.  

‘Backbone of terrorists has been broken’

The Prime Minister said no government in the past tried to seriously address the challenge of terrorism but the present government took the challenge head on.

“We have broken the backbone of terrorists and their remnants would also be eliminated,” he said, adding that he is confident about Pakistan’s future.

“Our faith teaches us to eradicate terrorism and mischief,” he continued, adding that countries which fail to root out terrorism and evil fail eventually.

The premier said it is time to benefit from the improved peace and security situation in Pakistan as terrorism is about to be exterminated from the country.

‘Karachi Operation to continue until mission achieved’

The Prime Minister said the Karachi operation will continue until the desired results are accomplished.

He said the government took measures to address the challenge of lawlessness in Karachi, and the result can be seen as normalcy has returned in the mega city.

“The lights and peace of Karachi have been restored,” he said, drawing attention to the improved peace and security situation in the metropolis.

‘Work on CPEC, non-CPEC projects ongoing’

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), especially development of Gwadar, would prove to be a game changer for not only Balochistan and Pakistan but also the entire region.

He added that most of Karachi-Peshawar six-lane motorway would be completed by 2018. Karachi-Hyderabad section would be completed in six months, while work is being done on Hyderabad-Sukkur section, he said. Multan-Lahore and Karachi-Peshawar segments are also under-construction.    

On development projects in Thar, the Prime Minister said the government is setting up coal projects in the area and called Thar the “hope of Pakistan’s future”.

The Prime Minister said Bhasha dam will be the country’s biggest dam.

“It will be bigger than Mangla and Tarbela dams.”