Government officials should not obstruct public service, otherwise they will be dealt with an iron hand, warned Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday while addressing the first Overseas Pakistanis Convention at 90 Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam.
Shahbaz said the Punjab government had set new standards in public service through the establishment of the Land Record Management and Information System (LRMIS), Danish schools, metro bus projects and Ashiana Housing Schemes.
“I am the worst opponent of ‘patwarism’ rather than patwaris,” he said, adding that patwaris in Punjab would be sent to the surplus pool once the LRMIS came into effect.
He said a Commissionorate for Overseas Pakistanis in Punjab had been envisaged to address complaints and problems of overseas Pakistanis who worked in foreign lands to support their families in Pakistan and whose hearts were full of passion to serve the cause of the country.
He said the Commissionorate for the Overseas Pakistanis would be empowered like other provincial departments so that complaints could be addressed in the shortest possible time and provide security to life and property of expatriates.
Shahbaz said that overseas Pakistani should be called great ambassadors of Pakistan rather than overseas Pakistanis.
The chief minister thanked the great sons of soil who had rushed to the call of the motherland on a short notice to attend the convention, adding that their arrival was also proof of their confidence in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government and its public welfare policies.
He also pointed out the Chinese government was making huge investment in the energy sector. The country, he said, had announced a Rs 32 billion package for Pakistan and during the next seven years four mega projects would be completed at a cost of Rs 20 billion.
The chief minister said first turbine of the Nandipur power project would become operational by next month.
He said load shedding had not only adversely affected the national economy, trade and exports but also enhanced poverty and unemployment in the country.
He said collective efforts were needed to resolve public problems and urged politicians, generals, bureaucrats and businessmen to play a role in steering the country out of the prevailing quagmire.
Shahbaz also urged the Pakistani expatriates to contribute actively in rebuilding Pakistan and transforming it into a economically strong state.
Later, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, in his vote of thanks, said that overseas Pakistanis had always helped the nation when it faced an odd situation. He said Chief Justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial had already set up a complaint cell to redress complaints of overseas Pakistanis.
