MOHMAND, May 2 (APP)::Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday performed ground-breaking of the Mohmand Dam on Swat River in Mohmand Agency.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman and Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Dr Noorul Haq Qadri and Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa were also present on the occasion. Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar attended the ceremony as a special guest.
Addressing the ground-breaking ceremony, the prime minister reaffirmed his government’s commitment to bring lasting peace and prosperity for the tribal people.
He said the tribal areas were neglected by the previous regimes as no development work was carried out there, which resulted into social disparity. The development of the areas and uplift of their poor segments were the priority of present government, he added.
Imran Khan said economic stability had direct link with the peace in the region and the armed forces of Pakistan had successfully achieved that objective. For the purpose, a large number of security personnel laid down their lives.
The prime minister said he had visited all the tribal areas and found that the people had strong resolve to contribute in the national development. He was cognizant of the problems being faced by them and his government was taking steps to resolve them.
He said earlier today he had attended a local sports festival in Tirah Valley, which was a sign of restoration of peace in the area. More peace in the region would give more confidence to businessmen to invest there and that would ultimately create more employment opportunities, he added
Referring to his recent visit to China, Imran Khan said the country had developed its economy at massive level during the past 30 years under its visionary leadership. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a depiction of China’s next 30 years’ planning to strengthen the economy in its western parts by establishing road connectivity. ‘By this, the Chines leadership will make the western areas economically developed at par with the eastern ones,” he added while elaborating economic planning system of China.
He said the government was working on the construction of five million houses with full commitment. The Chinese methodology of pre-fabricated material might be applied for the purpose.
The prime minister said unfortunately no visionary development planning had been made in the country in the past. There was no equal distribution of national wealth among the cities, he said citing that Lahore was given Rs 7,000 per capita development funds against Rs 2,500 per capita funds allocate to Rajanpur.
He announced Rs 4.5 billion funds for the development projects in of Mohmand, provision of Internet services, creating employment opportunities and establishment of more educational institutions.
He said Rs 100 billion per annum would be given to the tribal areas for development for next 10 years.
The prime minister said the ‘Naya Pakista’ would be built on the pattern of State of Madina where the writ of law would be established. He said the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) had set the foundation of the state on social and economic equality. “The Holy Prophet (PBUH) once said he would even cut the hands of his own daughter if she was found guilty of theft,” he added.
The prime minister maintained that the State of Madina was a benchmark for modern welfare states.
He said when a wealthy politician was questioned about the source of his wealth, he propagated that democracy was in danger. ‘In fact such people make a hue and cry to hide their illegal wealth.”
The prime minister said foreign loans had increased in last 10 years from Rs 6,000 billion to Rs 30,000 billion because of poor governance and corruption of last due governments.
The prime minister said no NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) would be given to any corrupt. Letting the corrupt go scot free would be betrayal and injustice to the nation, he added.
Source: VNS MOHMAND AGENCY
