By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday chaired a meeting on reviving tourism sector in the country, where it was decided to form coordination committee and remove all encroachments from tourist spots.
The prime minister while chairing the meeting decided to form a coordination committee under the chair of his Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resources Development Zulfi Bukhari for promoting tourism in the country.
The committee would meet after every week and would further brief Prime Minister Imran Khan over the progress made on the development of tourism in the country after every 14 days.
It was also decided to remove encroachment from all tourists spots in the country as the premier directed the provinces to take adequate measures in this regard.
Speaking during the meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the country needs to divert attention towards tourism and bring forward its real potential.
“We have to improve the situation at tourists spots across the country,” he said adding that these places would promote the culture and traditions of the country locally and internationally.
We will be providing improved facilities to tourists at these spots, the prime minister said as such activity would improve economic activity and generate employment opportunities for locals.
The prime minister also directed the concerned authorities to properly utilize government infrastructure for promoting tourism in the country and stressed upon the need to effectively utilize historical places, governor houses and guests houses for the purpose.
Meanwhile, On directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the performance evaluation of police department has been initiated with show cause notices and warnings issued to irresponsible officials with poor performance record, the PM Office said Wednesday.
The Prime Minister Office said it had received evaluation reports from Inspectors Generals (IGs) of Punjab and Khyber Pukhtankhwa on performance of officers regarding the redressal of complaints at PM’s Citizen Portal.
Three Divisional Police Offices (DPOs) from Punjab stationed in Rahim Yar Khan, Nankana Sahib and Bhakkar have been given notices seeking a reply to be submitted within a week. In case of no reply, strict action will be taken, the PM Office said.
According to report, the Punjab IGP appreciated the police officials with good performance including DPO Mandi Bahauddin, Superintendent Police Gulgasht Multan and Additional IG Special Branch.
Thirty-one police officers of Punjab have been placed in red category of Delivery Unit.
The KPK IGP issued notices to six police officials of the provincial police department on poor performance, the PM Office said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday stressing the importance of making youth stakeholders in economy said job opportunities would be provided to young people to exploit their potential.
The Prime Minister expressed these views in a meeting with Adviser on Finance Hafeez Sheikh and Special Assistant on Youth Affairs Usman Dar.
He was given a briefing on the latest facts and figures of Kamyab Jawan Programme besides consultation held on expediting the distribution of money among the youth under the programme.
The prime minister was updated that within a few days, more than 30,000 young people applied for the money and for their convenience, 21 banks would be handling the disbursement process.
So far, one billion rupees have been distributed among the youth while request for more than Rs53 billion have been received.
The prime minister directed distribution of funds be completed in a more expeditious and transparent manner.
He termed the programme very important to eliminate the negative impact of coronavirus on national economy.
The prime minister stressed exercising transparency and merit while making financial assistance.
Imran Khan said he was himself monitoring Kamyab Jawan Programme and decided to hold a monthly briefing on its progress.
He expressed satisfaction over the progress made so far in the programme and directed Special Assistant Usman Dar to submit review report every month.
