Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has announced an increase of Rs 5 billion in the budget of Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF) from July 1.
CM said that with the addition of Rs 5 billion, the total volume of endowment fund would increase to Rs 23 billion. He was addressing an awareness programme about PEEF at University of Sargodha today.
He said that the opponents of the government have made it a habit to unnecessarily criticize the public friendly initiatives of the government. A prosperous Pakistan is unacceptable to them, he added.
As the opponents criticize, we will continue to serve the public, he said. He termed Imran Khan’s allegations about an offer of Rs 10 billion as bribe in the Panama papers case as baseless. He said that if this allegation is proved true, he will quit politics and apologise to the nation. But if Imran Khan is proved wrong, then it would be at his discretion to leave politics, he added.
He announced that he would file a case against Imran Khan for defamation.
“Niazi sahib should listen to this; I shall move court at every cost. If an allegation of receiving even a penny in bribe is proved, then I shall leave politics once and for all”, CM said.
HE said that PEEF is a sacred mission which has been benefiting hundreds of thousands of scholars who would go on to strengthen the nation in the future.
“Free education, health and provision of residential facilities are the responsibilities of every genuinely welfare state, and, we are following the policies of making this country a welfare state. PEEF is a milestone for this country in its journey to become a welfare state, and it is a unique project for which, even the budget of the whole country is insufficient” he said.
He asked the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi to spend budget of his country on education, instead of destruction and wished that PEEF style projects could be setup there to eradicate poverty in the country.
He said that access to equal development is the right of every Pakistani, and asked why the opponents were opposing this reasonable development.
He said that Metro train project would be inaugurated in every district because quality and respectable transport is the right of every citizen. He made the vice chairman PEEF to promise to him that the total number of beneficiaries of PEEF would increase to 3.5 hundred thousand, from next year, now that the budget had substantially increased.
