KARACHI: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said that peace in Karachi was a must for economic prosperity of the country and assured foreign and local investors that necessary measures were being taken to revive the city to its old glory.
He was addressing an award ceremony here at the Karachi Stock Exchange to recognise the 25 best performing companies, during the years from 2010 to 2013.
The prime minister said that the operation in Karachi was being undertaken with consensus following meeting of all parties and said today the situation has considerably improved.
Prime Minister Sharif said incidents of kidnapping for ransom, ‘bhatta’, target killing have drastically reduced.
He said the people of Karachi too have noted the marked improvement in situation and said the Sindh government was moving hand-in-hand with the federal government in efforts to bring peace to Karachi.
The event was also attended by Governor Sindh Ishratul Ibad, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Chairman KSE Munir Kamal.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif dwelt at length about the challenges the PML-N government inherited when it came to power as the law and order situation was poor, extremism and terrorism were on the nerves of the people and the terrorists had targeted places of worship, markets, children and schools.
He said there was no room for complacency, the government was taking its job very seriously and working 24/7 to serve the country. He vowed that his government would let no stone unturned in meeting all the challenges the country was facing.
He said the PML-N government was strictly adhering to its manifesto and fulfilling all promises made to the masses.
Prime Minister said the overall economic situation in the country has revived with painstaking work. He mentioned the hardwork being put in for resolving the issue of energy shortage in the country and said a broad based programme was being pursued including power generation from coal, solar and wind, besides long term projects on hydel generation.
He lauded Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for his key role in reviving the economy, which today was stable and improving.
Prime Minister Sharif regretted that the no previous government took head-on the challenge against extremism and terrorism. He said operation Zarb-e-Azb was going on successfully and the network and hide-outs of the terrorists have been eliminated. Prime Minister said the government was today pursuing a 20-point agenda that was being implemented across the country and vowed that the operation would continue till the elimination of last terrorist.
Prime Minister recalled the smooth and amicable handing over of power following the 2013 general election and said today all decisions were being taken with consensus and taking all stakeholder on board.
He categorically assured that the operation in Karachi was only against the criminals and not against any political party. He said armed gangs, mafia, sectarian and other criminal outfits have no place in Karachi.
Prime Minister also touched upon country’s ties with its neighbouring countries and mentioned the efforts to further improve bilateral relations.
He said Pakistan’s economy suffered damages in billions of US dollars due to its involvement in the war against terrorism and willhave to work hard to make up all the losses.
He said measures were afoot to promote investment in the country, besides steps to improve infrastructure including motorway link of Karachi with the rest of the country. He said south to north gas pipelines would be constructed that would be connected with lines to bring in gas from Iran.
He said work was also on to provide cheap electricity to the end users so that the cost of production declines and industrial and agriculture products are available at cheap rates for increased exports.
The Prime Minister also gave away awards to the outstanding companies and urged others to emulate and improve their performance.
