ISLAMABAD (APP): Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar Friday said that the general election on February 8 would bring political stability in the country. The prime minister, in an interview with a private television channel, said after the elections, the new government would work to achieve political and economic stability.
He said his government successfully achieved most of the targets set by it and a white paper would be issued to enlist those successes. “The biggest challenges were economic issues,” he said, adding the next government would have to work with the International Monetary Fund and bring reforms in the taxation system to take the economy forward.
He said the government carried forward the process of privatisation of state-owned entities, including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The process of privatisation was almost complete, he added. The prime minister said the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) led the effort to sign $ 25 billion worth of memorandums of understanding with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The SIFC was formed by the previous government after enactment of a law in the Parliament, he recalled. He said the social media would be regulated and some people would have to stop the wrong use of the medium. The previous governments worked to control negative aspects of the social media and in future a “national firewall” through use of technology would be created to subdue the negative tendencies, he noted. He said May 9 was an attack on the concept of the State of Pakistan and from the very start he was very critical of the elements involved in the incidents.
However, the whole of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf could not be kept away from Pakistani politics, he said, adding only some specific people of the PTI were involved in the incidents of May 9. He clarified that his government did not target any political party. He remarked that undermining social order created anarchy which was not acceptable in any society. “Social order is the guarantor of political order,” he added.
PM Kakar said the political parties needed to democratise themselves and decrease influence of individuals. The Supreme Court’s decision on the intra-party elections of PTI was a welcome step and would increase the opportunities for politicians from the middle class to make a mark on the political landscape, he opined. He said veteran politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman undertook a private visit to Afghanistan and the State of Pakistan was not involved in it, however, the Foreign Office did brief him on the situation in the neighbouring country.
He said the citizens of neighbouring, countries including Afghanistan had to observe immigration laws of Pakistan as was done all over the world. He said Iran’s attack on Pakistani soil was absolutely wrong and Pakistan responded appropriately to the aggression. “We were shocked by the attack of Iran. We were not expecting this.” Both sides had agreed to the need for de-escalation, he added.
PTA revenue surges to Rs 850b; access to cellular services reaches 90pc: Chairman of Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) Major General (Retd) Hafeezur Rehman on Friday called on Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar here. In the meeting, the PTA chairman presented to the prime minister the annual report 2023 of the Authority.
The prime minister was informed that the PTA’s revenue increased by 17 percent to Rs 850 billion comparing the last year while the access to cellular services in the country had reached 90 percent. The PTA chief said that the number of cellular consumers had touched 192 million and high-speed broadband users reached 130 million during 2023.
The prime minister lauded the services of the PTA chairman and his team in extending mobile phone and Internet services to the common man.
PM lauds role of Rotary int’l, world community for polio eradication in Pakistan: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar lauded the Rotary International, world community and development partners for their role in the eradication of polio in Pakistan.
The prime minister, in a meeting with a delegation of Rotary International led by Stephanie A. Urchik, also appreciated the organization’s services for the promotion of education and other sectors. The delegation briefed the prime minister about the Pakistan Smart Village Programme and performance of the Rotary International for polio eradication.
The prime minister congratulated Stephanie for becoming the first female president of Rotary International and expressed good wishes. He also reiterated his government’s resolve to make every Pakistani children safe from polio. He assured the Rotary International for his government’s all-out cooperation in the execution of its programmes, and expressed the hope that the organization would expand the accessibility to their programmes. The prime minister was told that Rotary would help uplift the living standards of the people while taking advantage of innovation and technology.
It was told that the Smart Villages would help promote the agriculture sector, take advantage of alternative energy, improve irrigation, provide drinking water, and mitigate the impacts of climate change. The meeting was told that the Rotary International had donated around 800,000 books across Pakistan, with 200,000 distributed in Balochistan.
The delegation also gifted another 10,000 books to the prime minister which would be distributed in different parts of the country. It was told that the mobile library of Rotary International was helping to promote book reading and literacy. Caretaker Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan and relevant senior officers attended the meeting.
