PESHAWAR: Federal Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Monday that political stability was a must for making the country an economic giant among the comity of nations.
Talking to media here after inaugurating the executive passport office and NADRA mega centre, he called for refraining from the blame game and for developing national cohesion, adding that such things would end up in nothing but political turmoil.
He said that the PML-N government has put the country on a road to progress and prosperity. He recalled that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came into power in 2013 when the country was in total disarray and its economy was like “a sinking ship where there was no electricity and peace”.
“Twenty hours load-shedding was a routine matter and the economic wheel was stopped as there was a big energy crisis,” he added.
“However, with the blessing of the Almighty, today we proved all the speculations being made in 2013 wrong and put the country on the fast track of development,” he said.
Ahsan also lauded the performance of NADRA, saying that after making reforms within the organisation, other countries were also benefiting from the authority’s services.
The interior minister said that the growth rate of the country had increased from 3 to 5 per cent, whereas 10,000MW electricity would be added to the national grid by 2018. He recalled that during the last 66 years, only 16,000 MW was generated.
He also said that industrial sector was being provided with an uninterrupted supply of electricity. He added that crime ratio had dropped by 80 to 90 per cent whereas new blood had been injected into economic rigs.
Ahsan also said that the backbone of the terrorists had been broken, as the law enforcers were chasing the terrorists who had been confined. However, he regretted that a specific group in the country was spreading disappointment in a bid to snatch self-confidence from the people, which he said would not be allowed.
Referring to the report of Transparency International, he said that if the economic pace, which the country has attained remained so, Pakistan would soon be among big –twenty economies of the world.
He explained that the federal government has no domain to differentiate between the urban and rural areas, adding that it was the responsibility of the provincial governments. “Certain quarters were spreading the rumours with regard to the population census and wanted general elections on the old population census,” he added.
Ahsan also said that holding elections without new population census would create new problems in the country. He added that nobody would be allowed to create a dispute over the matter.
He also said that population census was conducted by Pakistan Army and civil government in a very transparent manner for which both deserve appreciation.
He added that according to the new census, the constituencies in KP and Balochistan have been increased and any constitutional and legal battle over the matter would jeopardise the upcoming general elections in 2018.
He also said that some elements wanted to create an environment of mistrust between the army and the government. “The officials of Pak Army sacrificed their lives in the war against terror and we are proud of their supreme sacrifices,” he added.
Concluding his talk, he said that Imran Khan had introduced a trend in politics that was casting a negative impact on the educated lot of the country.
On the occasion, NADRA Chairman Osman Yousaf Mobeen was also present.
Political stability with convicted and corrupt buddies of Ahsen Iqbal is not a must. He needs some bashing.
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