Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has emphasized for greater unity, cohesion and solidarity to steer the country out of challenges and put it on the path of prosperity.
He was addressing the staff of PM House and PM office on the occasion of luncheon hosted in their honour in Islamabad. Shehbaz Sharif advised the civil servants especially those employed in the PM Office and PM House to work diligently for the betterment of the country.
“We all should endeavour to free the country from all domestic and international loans and put it on strong footing,” he added.
“I thank you all for supporting and guiding me during my 16-month stay in the office. Either they are my personal secretaries, military secretary, drivers, cook, telephone operator, deputy secretaries, PSOs, or others, all did their duties with due diligence and guided me on various matters,” he added.
The Prime Minister recalled that our ancestors rendered immense sacrifices for a Pakistan where all the people had equal opportunities to excel in their fields. He regretted that we deviated from our path.
The Prime Minister said it is time to renew the pledge to follow the teachings of the Holy Quran, Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) as well as those of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal to foster unity in our ranks.
He said we should serve the country in such a manner that rids it of loans and take us on the path of self-reliance. He said this is not an impossible task but only requires sacrifice and sheer dedication and devotion to work.
Alluding to the austerity measures taken during the past 16 months of his stint, Shehbaz Sharif said given the difficult economic situation, several cabinet members decided to forgo their perks and privileges.
The prime minister lamented the past practice of unnecessarily criticizing and victimising competent officers which adversely impacted public service. He said just like the politicians, the officers were also victimised and their families harassed.
He said the civil service faced a severe blow during the devolution due to very reason, some of the youngsters also opted to join other services.
Mentioning the systemic delays in the execution of 10,000MW solar energy project, Prime Minister Shehbaz called for establishing robust systems to ensure the smooth execution of projects.
