ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the government inherited the serious economic challenges including record inflation, unemployment, and poverty but vowed to make untiring efforts for providing much-awaited relief to the masses.
The prime minister, during an interaction with journalists, said Pakistan was faced with serious economic challenges. He said even the relief measures announced in his maiden address as prime minister, including Rs 25,000 minimum wage and 10% increase in pensions, were meager compared to over 20% inflation rate.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said he had interacted with economic experts seeking their suggestions to overcome the economic difficulties. The prime minister said the statistics being shared by the government were not meant to upset the people but to explain the economic challenges inherited by the government.
He said after the formation of the federal cabinet, the government would come up with short-term and mid-term plans to overcome the inflation and the revival of the economic system. He said the surge by in Pakistan stock exchange and rupee appreciation of Rs10 against the dollar were the feel-good factors.
The stock exchange was in fact a barometer to gauge the sentiments of the business community in the country, he said. However, this needed to be built up through dedicated and untiring efforts, he added.
The prime minister said the main focus of the coalition government was to introduce the electoral reforms. “The government will remain for one and half years. We want to focus on electoral reforms before the next elections.”
Pakistan House
To a question, he said the evil nexus between ex-prime minister Imran Khan and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had been exposed as it believed in the political victimization.
Shehbaz Sharif assured that the incumbent government neither believed in nor intended to carry out any victimization, however the law would take its own course to punish the wrongdoers as the institutions were well cognizant of their responsibilities.
The prime minister said by deploying the officials from all federating units, the PM House would be made to reflect as Pakistan House. However, merit will be the order of the day with one to be allowed to go against the merit.
To a question about the reversal to six-day a week working in the federal government organizations, the prime minister said five-day working suited only the prosperous nations while in Pakistan, it required immense hard work to overcome the issues.
