Pakistan moving towards long-term stability: PM Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday asserted that Pakistan was moving towards long-term stability, underscoring the need to streamline affairs by learning ‘lessons from the past’, ARY News reported.

The prime minister was addressing the launching ceremony of ‘Prime Minister’s Initiative for Women Empowerment’ which is being initiated at a total cost of Rs10.4 billion.

PM Shehbaz stressed upon provision of equal opportunities to the womenfolk as they consisted of half of the country’s population and were playing varying roles at different stratum of society.

The prime minister said that the country’s womenfolk were an effective and energetic segment of society, playing effective roles in families and society as mothers, sisters, wives and daughters.

He observed that in the last 75 years, the required opportunities for the women empowerment were not sufficient and stressed upon making of further efforts for securing women rights including the inheritance rights and creation of opportunities in a conducive environment.

“Look around the Muslims world and the West, the women have played their due role for the progress and prosperity of their respective nations,” he added.

Lauding different prominent women personalities of the country, he said that they had served as great ambassadors of Pakistan in different capacities.

The premier said that there was no dearth of talent in Pakistan as they were blessed with great minds, but there was a need to harness the true potential with creation of opportunities.

Commending the rural women, he said that ratio of the rural area women in the national building capacity was immense as they had been working on fields alongside with men.

He further observed that to achieve a place among the comity of nation, both genders of the country had to work together, and underlined the need for provision of financial and actual opportunities in different fields.

“The women segment of our society is the driving engine for the country’s economy and serve as builders of nation,” he added.

‘Foreign debts’

Referring to the current day challenges, PM Shehbaz expressed his gratitude to the brotherly country of Saudi Arabia for extending financial support in form of $2 billion deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan.

The prime minister questioned that as a nation for how long they would continue to depend upon foreign loans?  adding “It is the pricking question?”

He said a neighbouring country of Pakistan in the year 1991 sought last IMF programme and then did not require any other financial programme.

The prime minister underscored the need that they had to streamline their affairs by learning lessons from the past and ‘like an active nation have to move ahead’.

For a year, he said that he had never faced such severe financial issues, triggered further by last year’s floods, global inflation and Ukraine war which posed a huge challenge for country’s economy.

About International Monetary Fund programme, he hoped that it would proceed accordingly. Terming the foreign debts as fetters, he said the nation have to rid itself from financial chains.

The prime minister further highlighted that they had to focus on the development of agriculture, exports and exploration of precious minerals worth trillion of dollars.

He regretted that billions of dollars had been wasted on litigation in the past and the country did not get a single penny profit which made them to suffer collectively.

The prime minister without elaboration said that all the political leaders and dictators were equally responsible for those woes. “If we show determination, the country can emerge within days,” he added.