-Says govt will not leave people of Karachi alone
-Reviews NDMA plan for clearing nullahs/river beds & solving other issues of Karachi
By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday directed federal institutions to carry out relief operations and help rain-hit people in Karachi as heavy downpour brought life to a standstill in the port city.
PM Khan has directed authorities concerned to step up relief efforts in rain-affected areas of Karachi and use all available resources in proving relief to people of Karachi.
“Federal government will not leave people of Karachi alone,” said PM Imran and lauded efforts of Pakistan Army and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for carrying out relief activities in the city.
On the other hand, Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Asad Umar, said that he reviewed the plan for clearing Karachi Nullahs/river beds.
The work on cleaning Karachi sewage drains will start from next month after the approval of plan.
“Reviewed NDMA plan for clearing nullahs/ river beds & solve problem of Karachi drowning every time it rains heavily. Inshallah will have plan approved and work started in Sep. Completion in 1 year. Largest tax-paying city of Pakistan deserves better than what it is facing today,” he tweeted.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Army is carrying out relief and rescue operations in various parts of Karachi affected by heavy rains, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday.
It said the army’s engineers along with heavy machinery and specialised equipment have been deployed to stop the outflow of water from the Malir River by repairing cracks that emerged in its walls, inundating Qaidabad and nearby neighbourhoods.
In a tweet late on Tuesday night, the ISPR said Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa had directed the Karachi Corps to step up flood relief operations to assist the people affected by the recent rains in interior Sindh and Karachi.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said the government was committed to extend all possible facilitation to exporters and remove impediments in way to increase the country’s exports, both in goods and services.
Talking to a delegation of leading exporters from sectors including poultry, rice, fruits, Information Technology, pharmaceuticals and textile, the Prime Minister stressed the need for greater focus on capitalizing country’s potential in services-related exports in an enabling environment.
The Prime Minister mentioned the critical role of exports in national economy including job creation and employment for young workforce.
He expressed satisfaction that Pakistan’s economy was moving in right direction with current account surplus recorded in July 2020 and a constant growth shown in exports even after a global slump caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
The Prime Minister noted that in order to promote the process of industrialization in the country and to make our products competitive, the government had either eliminated or significantly reduced duties on hundreds of tariff lines involving raw material for the local industry.
He said that system of refunds had been streamlined to resolve liquidity issues of the exporters and industrialists.
“Our Government is vigorously pursuing ‘Make in Pakistan’ policy, to promote export-led industrialization in the country and our efforts in the last two years have been to further this objective through various interventions particularly in ease-of-doing-business,” he said.
The Prime Minister reiterated that the momentum of increase in exports could only be maintained through increased focus on product and geographical diversification.
During the meeting, exporters appreciated various policy initiatives of the present government and also presented various suggestions to increase country’s exports in their respective areas.
Minister for Industries Mohammad Hammad Azhar, Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood were present.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday, during a phone call with Chairman, Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation Dr. Abdullah Abdullah reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to further deepen these brotherly ties and enhance cooperation in all fields.
During the call, according to the PM office media wing’s press release, the prime minister emphasized importance of Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations, which are based on commonalities of faith and culture, shared history, and fraternal bonds between the two
peoples.
Highlighting Pakistan’s positive contribution to the Afghan peace process, the prime minister stressed that the Afghan leaders must seize this historic opportunity to achieve an inclusive political settlement, contributing to durable peace, security and prosperity in Afghanistan.“Pakistan looks forward to the commencement of Intra-Afghan Negotiations at the earliest,” the press release quoted the prime minister as saying.
He underlined his long-standing belief that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and that a negotiated political settlement was the only way forward.
The prime minister extended best wishes to Dr. Abdullah Abdullah as chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and expressed the hope that the Council would successfully achieve its objectives.
Moreover, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that it was the government’s foremost duty and top priority to enable the weak and poverty-stricken segments of society meet their basic requirements.
The prime minister was chairing a meeting over to make the government’s system of providing subsidy on basic commodities of life to the weaker and low-income groups more effective, PM Office’s media wing said in a press release.
The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar, secretary finance, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) chairman and other senior officials.
The meeting considered various proposals for further improvement in the government’s system for provision of subsidised basic commodities to the poor and low-income groups of the society.
The prime minister directed his special assistant on social protection, secretary finance and Utility Stores corporation to give final shape to the proposals regarding provision of targeted subsidy on the basic daily-use items for the poor and low-income group.
Addressing the meeting, the prime minister further said that the government was striving to ensure this system functioned more effectively, transparently and well-targeted. It was also being ensured that amount from the government’s exchequer should be spent judiciously, he added.
The prime minister regretted that in the past, deficiencies in the system of subsidies were completely neglected due to which undeserving segments in the society took undue advantage.
Also, Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided to provide the maximum benefit of crops to the farmers by increasing support prices for wheat producers on Wednesday.
In a meeting today the Price Control Committee, presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan, decided to extend the maximum benefit of crops to the farmers by hiking support prices for wheat producers for the coming year.
The meeting also mulled over recommendations and steps to control the inflation in prices of essential items across the nation. It also briefed PM on the provincial status of the efforts made to ensure the same.
The meeting laid out the assessment report prepared by Tiger Force on sugar prices charged across the country. The PM took notice on the discrepancies and directed the committee to ensure official price lists are hanging on the utility, grocery stores across the country.
According to the reports, the cost of wheat production jumped to Rs1,349 per 40kg in Punjab and Rs1,315 per 40kg in Sindh.
Whereas the amount they were previously paid against this was a mere Rs1300 which discouraged them to grow wheat and contribute to fulfilling the country’s requirement.
However, the Economic Coordination Committee in March set the support prices to Rs1400 per 40kg.
The new support prices have yet to be revealed.
