Staff Reporter
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that the government would ensure to chalk-out a comprehensive vision and long-term planning to steer the country out of crisis and improve the living standard of the common man besides lifting people out of poverty.
The prime minister stated this while speaking at a function, ‘Changing Calamity into Opportunity,’ here at COMSTECH. The function, organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology, had displayed stalls of various medical equipment, produced by various public sector organizations and the private sector.
The prime minister said there was no lack of talent in Pakistan but unfortunately no government in the past focused on self-belief, knowledge economy and research and development (R&D). ‘’If the Pakistanis living abroad can excel in various fields then why not here, because we could not provide them such a system where they can utilize and flourish their talent, ‘’ he added.
He said self-belief was a panacea for development, progress, and self-reliance, adding that this quality created protection in a human being. The prime minister said that self-belief was the biggest principle of the State of Madinah, which freed the minds from the clutches of slavery.
He said Pakistan was progressing at a fast speed in the 1960s but unfortunately that pace of development was not maintained and the country lost its destination.
The prime minister said that the country would have to go towards the knowledge economy, education, science and technology to get a dignified place among the comity of nations.
The prime minister said Covid-19 crisis provided an opportunity to produce locally manufactured ventilators and other protective equipment as everything could not be imported. ‘’ If we can develop the atomic bomb, then why not ventilators,’’ he added.
He said had elites of the country including the ministers go to the public hospitals for their treatment instead of going abroad on public money, the public hospitals and health infrastructure would have been improved to a great extent.
The prime minister said the government would have to improve the public hospitals and revamp medical infrastructure in the country.
The prime minister said the government did not opt for a complete lockdown as it would badly hit the poor and down-trodden segments of the society, adding that a country where there was an ocean of poor people and few rich could not make progress.
He said China had lifted 700 million people out of poverty, adding that the present government was committed to work for the poor segment of the society and ameliorate their lot.
The prime minister said overseas Pakistanis were a great asset of the country and the majority of them wanted to come back to Pakistan and contribute for the country. But added that for it the system and institutions would have to be improved.
Later, the prime minister also inspected medical equipment produced by various public sector organizations and the private sector.
Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain while giving a briefing to the prime minister said Pakistan was producing Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) indigenously on affordable cost to face the challenge of Covid-19.
He said the Ministry of Science and Technology and Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) was manufacturing hand sanitizers and disinfectants in large numbers and now the country was in a position to export these goods, even after meeting the local requirements. He said seven types of ventilators designed by Pakistan Engineering Council were in clinical trial, while National University of Science and Technology had developed its own testing kit.
He said the private sector, especially the textile sector of Faisalabad, was producing protective gear for doctors and heal workers, beyond the domestic consumption.
Minister of Defence Production Zobaida Jalal while briefing the prime minister said Pakistanis had a great mind and were able to overcome any kind of challenge.
She said after emerging the Covid-19, the ministry of defense production mobilized its teams to prepare safety equipment in the fight against coronavirus.
Zobaida Jalal said her ministry had achieved the capability to produce around 300,000 to 400,000 liters of sanitizers, 35,000 high quality masks and 400-500 protective suits per day.
