-Terms groundbreaking of South Punjab secretariat a new beginning
-Launches Kissan card scheme for farmers
-Says Scheme will ‘transform’ agriculture sector of Pakistan
-Plans training for Farmers to increase agricultural production
From Our Correspondent
MULTAN: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday announced to bring constitutional amendment for the formation of South Punjab province.
Addressing an inauguration ceremony of the South Punjab secretariat, Imran Khan said that South Punjab would become a province and for that, they would move towards bringing a constitutional amendment in the Parliament. He said that it has been decided that South Punjab would get its job quota as per its population.
“Construction of the secretariat will also help people as they will now not have to go to Lahore for resolution of their issues,” Imran Khan said adding that after inaugurating Multan Secretariat today, he would also inaugurate Bahawalpur secretariat soon.
The prime minister was all praise for Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar during the ceremony and said he wanted a man for Punjab, who could develop the province as per his vision and whose everything was for Pakistan and inside Pakistan.
“I wanted a man who did not go to London to spend his holidays,” he said while referring towards the Sharif family and said that previously a ‘Bollywood actor’-referring to Shahbaz Sharif- used to portray himself as a savior by spending millions in terms of advertisement.
He said that there was no comparison between them and Usman Buzdar as currently, efforts are being made to elevate the unprivileged areas of the province. “I assure you that this would not have happened previously in Punjab,” he said adding that previous leaders invested in foreign assets and kept their children abroad while Usman Buzdar established shelter homes for people who used to sleep on footpaths within days of being asked.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said the incumbent government is committed to uplifting the living standards of farmers of the country.This he stated while addressing a ceremony to distribute Kissan Cards among the farmers in Multan. Terming the growers as the backbone of the country, PM Khan said the Kissan Card scheme is an important initiative taken by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to improve the living standards of the farmers.
“The scheme will raise the living standards of farmers.” The progress of farmers will ultimately uplift the country. The premier said the farmers of wheat earned Rs500 billion for their crops and the rate of the wheat crop increased by Rs500 during the so far tenure of the incumbent government. PM Khan said that his government is working on providing loans to the farmers through Kissan Cards to help them in compensating their losses. He stressed the need to adopt modern cultivation methods to increase production. “The growers are still using old-age methods of cultivation.”
Advising the farmers to cultivate more wheat crops, the premier said the loss margin on cropping different vegetables and fruits is 50pc while it is only 20pc on the wheat crop.
“Our goal is to double the income of farmers.”
The ceremony was also attended by Chief Minister Punjab, Usman Buzdar, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Khusro Bakhtiar.
Moreover, Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday stressed upon wider regional and global cooperation to tackle the devastating health and socio-economic impacts caused by Covid-19 pandemic as efforts for recovery could not work in isolation.
Making a virtual statement at the opening segment of 77th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the prime minister said Pakistan has shifted its focus from geo-politics to geo-economics.
“We are ready to join hands for win-win outcomes. Our success lies in cooperative multilateralism and partnerships. Let Asia-Pacific take the lead. Pakistan is willing to work with all members to advance our shared objectives,” he added.
The prime minister said the world had been in the midst of an unprecedented global crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have seen its devastating health and socio-economic impacts all around the world, with Asia and the Pacific also bearing the brunt. Pre-existing vulnerabilities and inequalities have become even more acute. We are now lagging further behind in achieving the SDGs than ever before. Over 100 million people will fall back into extreme poverty,” he said.The prime minister said it might take years to regain the pre-COVID income levels. Varying financial capacities, health care and vaccine rollout might lead to uneven recovery among countries and regions.
“We must ensure that no one is left behind. That requires international solidarity. We need the right mix of national actions, regional collaboration, and multilateral cooperation,” he emphasized. The prime minister also suggested four key areas of focus including-to put the people front and centre for pro-poor and inclusive policies and strengthening of public health and social protection systems.
He said these had been the primary objectives for them in Pakistan. People-centred economic security was now at the core of the development paradigm. Prime Minister Khan further mentioned that peace and development must be anchored in human rights, which should be upheld and protected universally. The international community needed to pay special attention to situations of foreign occupation.
Third, he said, in building back, they had the opportunity to model their economies on more resilient and sustainable grounds.
“Ambitious climate action is a way ahead. Pakistan is accordingly implementing policies for green growth,” he added.
Regarding his fourth suggestion, the prime minister said there was a dire need to mobilize adequate financing for development.
For the developing countries, he said, the debt issue must be addressed in a fair and sustainable manner.
“With my ‘Global Initiative on Debt Relief’, Pakistan has been advocating this cause on all world forums. At home, we are implementing corresponding fiscal reforms,” he added. To achieve these ambitious goals, the prime minister said they all wanted to reinvigorate their economies and build back better, but they could not do that in isolation.
“Only through enhanced regional and international cooperation can we reopen safely and sustainably, starting with equitable access to affordable vaccines for all. We have to think in the long term, keeping in mind the best interest of our future generations,” he added.
