Observer Report Islamabad
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday assured citizens that Pakistan was “on its way to becoming a great nation.” He said that every area in the country had a special quality that could be developed to its advantage. The premier made these remarks while answering the public’s questions via telephone, in the first such session since he assumed office in 2018.
In response to a question by a citizen, the premier said that every area of Pakistan has a “certain advantage” that can be developed for its benefit. Elaborating on his statement, he said that Gilgit Baltistan could never be an industrial hub similar to Karachi and Sialkot but it could become a hub for tourism. Citing the example of Switzerland, he said the country was “half the size of our Northern areas yet every year it earns $80 billion from tourism”, comparing it to Pakistan’s exports, which he said amounted to $25bn annually.
“GB is twice [the size] of Switzerland and has taller mountains. If we concentrate on tourism then the whole area can become prosperous like never before. I have talked to the [GB] chief minister, we have to make it a tourism hub.” Talking further about the region, the premier said the government was setting up a grid station in GB and would also set up hydroelectricity plants. “We have also planned roads which will open the area for tourism.”
He said this would lead to “so much prosperity in the region that people [currently] leaving GB for jobs elsewhere would not have to do so”.
Prime Minister Imran Khan pledged that coronavirus vaccine will be administrated “purely on the basis of criterion set by the government and without any discrimination between the rich and the poor” segments of the society. He assured the caller that government will not discriminate between rich and poor segments of the society in Covid-19 vaccination programme.
The first caller, a person from Sahiwal, asked Prime Minister Imran about the government’s strategy to vaccinate the population against Covid-19. Outlining the government’s plan, the premier said that in the first phase, frontline health workers, especially those treating coronavirus patients would be vaccinated. “Rich and poor will not matter. We will try to cover as many people as possible,” he stressed.
“Balochistan’s political setup has also damaged its people and caused harm.” The premier said that a local government system was needed so the money would “[trickle down]
to the villages instead of remaining with the people at the top”.
Prime Minister Imran noted that south Balochistan had been “left even more behind” but the PTI government had announced the “biggest package in Balochistan’s history” for
its development.
He urged the people to “have some patience”, saying the government wanted to develop far-flung areas that had been left behind but had limited resources.
“As resources keep increasing, as our mineral wealth in Balochistan starts increasing, we will try that it is first invested in Balochistan instead of going anywhere else.”
