Special Investment Facilitation Council to act as ‘Single Window’ interface for potential investors n PM says investors will be given primacy, fast-track approvals through a well-coordinated approach n Pakistan to target key sectors, foreign investment as part of the strategy n COAS says plan fundamental to socio-economic prosperity of Pakistanis.

Shehbaz Sharif urges political parties to work together for country’s uplift n Witnesses MoU signing on $3.48b C-5 nuclear power project n Donates four vans for orphan children at Pakistan Sweet Homes.

 

ISLAMABAD   -   The PML-N led coalition gov­ernment, in the wake of eco­nomic hardships confronting the country, Tuesday unveiled an elaborated ‘Economic Reviv­al Plan’ with a view to capital­ise Pakistan’s untapped poten­tial in key sectors, fast-track the development projects and facil­itate investment.

“The plan was unveiled during a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS), chief ministers, federal and provincial ministers, and high-level government offi­cials,” says a press release issued by PM Office on Tuesday. 

The ‘Economic Revival Plan’ envisages capitalising Pakistan’s untapped potential in key sec­tors of defence production, ag­riculture, livestock, minerals, mining, information technology and energy, through indigenous development as well as invest­ments from friendly countries. 

To fast-track the development of projects, the establishment of Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has been under­taken to act as a ‘Single Win­dow’ interface for the potential investors as well as to adopt a unified approach. 

The setup will shorten here­tofore cumbersome and lengthy business processes through a cooperative and collaborative ‘whole of the government ap­proach’ with representation of all stakeholders. It is aimed at cre­ating horizontal-vertical synergy between the federation and prov­inces; facilitating timely decision making; avoiding duplication of effort; and ensuring swift project implementation. The high-rank­ing participation from feder­al and provincial governments, clearly manifests the national resolve to turn around the econ­omy despite all odds. 

COAS, speaking on the occa­sion, assured the Pakistan Ar­my’s all-out support to com­plement the government’s efforts for Economic Revival Plan, considered fundamental to socio-economic prosperity of Pakistanis and reclaiming Pa­kistan’s rightful stature among the comity of nations.

Prime Minister Shehbaz re­called that his government in­herited an economy which was on the brink of collapse. With bold and difficult decisions, it was now being steered towards growth and development, how­ever, there were massive chal­lenges ahead, he added. 

He said export-oriented for­eign direct investments held the key to economic revival and the government had, therefore, decided to adopt a holistic/whole-of-government approach which fostered partnerships within the federal and provin­cial governments for effective implementation and execution. 

The investors would be given primacy and fast-track approv­als, through a well-coordinated approach, he added. The prime minister observed that the ex­pected investments would cre­ate jobs and livelihoods for the youth and women, and advised that the focus should be on em­powering young and females to realise their full potential.

“Let us resolve to work togeth­er, leave no stone unturned and be single minded in our focus and direction. We can transform the destiny of Pakistan and its people. It would, however, not happen without hard work and staying the course on the path of progress and development,” he remarked. PM Shehbaz said Pakistan and Pakistanis de­served nothing less from those who had been bestowed the re­sponsibility to administer the country by Allah Almighty and the people.

Meanwhile, Prime Minis­ter Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday called upon the nation and all political parties to work togeth­er for bringing the country out of crisis and taking it to new heights of development.

He said the dream of a pros­perous and developed Pakistan could only be fulfilled by ris­ing above mutual differences, burying the conspiracies, and maintaining rule of law in the country. Addressing the inau­guration ceremony of Margalla Avenue here, the prime minis­ter said the country possessed huge natural resources as it had the best minds and man­power as well.

“The only thing that laps is the will to do”, he said adding that although it was a difficult task but not impossible to bring the country out of crisis. 

He said all the initiatives were being taken for the de­velopment and prosperity of people of Islamabad and its at­tached areas. However, he said due to the past government’s criminal negligence, the citi­zens of the federal capital had to wait for years to enjoy their due facilities. 

He said last year was devas­tating both in terms of natu­ral calamities and on the polit­ical front as the country faced devastating floods and the po­litical opponents hatched con­spiracies against the country. Their agenda surfaced on May 9, 2023 when everyone saw that what they did was even never thought by the enemy of Paki­stan,” he added. 

He said despite the challeng­es, the CDA Chairman, former MNA Hanif Abbasi and their team who worked diligently to complete this project for which the people of Islamabad were waiting for years. 

He said recently he visited Baku, where he saw smooth and clean roads and beautiful land­scape and gardening along the roads. He advised Interior Min­ister Rana Sanaullah to take his team to Baku to get their first hand experience and apply in Pakistan as well. 

PM Shehbaz said today he also witnessed the signing of an MoU for a $3.48 billion Chash­ma Nuclear Power Plant (C-5) which reflected the Chinese re­solve to support Pakistan in dif­ficult times.

He said Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE were also Pakistan’s unmatched friendly countries that were also supporting Paki­stan at this difficult time. 

The prime minister said his political opponents alleged him for getting big kick backs on China Pakistan Economic Corri­dor (CPEC) projects. “If that was true, Imran Khan should have presented the proof before the courts,” he added. 

He said the Chinese state owned company not only kept the cost of the C-5 project at the level agreed in 2017-18, but also on his personal request, the company gave discount of Rs 30 billion on the project. 

He said former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself launched 5000 MW energy projects at a time when Pakistan was facing huge power load shedding.In­terior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the prime minister had in­augurated an important road Margalla Avenue which con­nected new sectors of Islam­abad with GT-Road. 

He said the prime minister had also launched a historic Rs 20 billion package for rural ar­eas of the federal capital.

Hanif Abbasi said the PML-N always worked for welfare of the people and the prime minis­ter was famous across the world for his speed and his service for the people of his county.

Later, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also laid the foundation stone of upgradation and reha­bilitation project of Sikander e Azam Road. 

He was told that the 7.5 kilo­meter road would be complet­ed at cost of Rs 3.5 billion and it would connect district Haripur and Khanpur Dam.

The prime minister directed the relevant authorities to com­plete the project on time. PM as­sures utilization of resources to strengthen, facilitate police force Prime Minister Muham­mad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the incumbent government would utilize all possible re­sources to upgrade the capacity and performance of the Islam­abad Capital Territory Police by extending different facilities.

Addressing a stone laying ceremony of the National Po­lice Hospital at Police Lines, the prime minister appreciated the sacrifices and contributions of the police force.

He said the entire nation felt pride over the police force as they were the protectors of the nation and expressed the con­fidence that the police force would not tolerate any lapse in maintaining law and order.

The prime minister assured to strengthen the skills and capac­ity of the police force and all the recommendations in that re­gard would be fulfilled despite economic constraints.

On the occasion, the prime minister also unveiled plaques for Dolphin and SPU Headquar­ters and an educational insti­tute for the families of the police force projects. Minister for Plan­ning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Federal Education and Training Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minis­ter for Interior Rana Sanaullah, parliamentarians, ambassadors and a large number of police of­ficers and jawans were present.

Appreciating the efforts of in­terior minister, the prime min­ister said the plan for the es­tablishment of Dolphin force in Islamabad should be immedi­ately prepared on the pattern he had introduced in the Punjab province with the assistance of Turkiye. Instructors from Tur­kiye should be brought to im­part training and a comprehen­sive programme in that regard should be introduced, he added.

The prime minister further said that a hospital for the po­lice force and their families in Islamabad should have been constructed in the past. Now, the police force and their fami­lies would be provided with the latest health and educational facilities.

Commending the interior minister for his efforts for pay­ment of the Shahuda Package arrears, he also assured that he would take up the issue of po­lice law and order allowance with the finance minister.

The prime minister said about 2000 jawans had been induct­ed on merit which should be the standard emulated across the society. He said with such like merit-based inductions, the nation would move on path of progress whereas corrup­tion and favourtism wreaked havoc during the previous gov­ernment’s tenure. Meritocracy should be maintained at all lev­els, he stressed.

Earlier, speaking on the occa­sion, Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah said the present gov­ernment paid prompt attention to address all the issues faced by the Capital Police.

He referred to the payment of arrears to families of Shuhada and said over Rs 1 billion was paid within three days, in that regard, on the direction of the prime minister.

He said deserving children of the deceased police force were given jobs on merit.

Rana Sanaullah said salaries of the Islamabad Capital Terri­tory Police were made equiva­lent to those of the Punjab po­lice. He said the Dolphin force, special protection unit and an­ti-terrorism force would be soon made operational in Is­lamabad. Lauding the sacrific­es of Shuhada of police force, he said they had sacrificed their lives for the protection of coun­trymen and securing peace.

The interior minister said the entire nation stood against those who attacked and dis­graced the monuments of Shu­hada on May 9, adding the po­lice force very bravely faced the onslaught of a political party and protected the Capital city.

Inspector General of Police Dr Akbar Nasir Khan also high­lighted the performance and contributions of the police force in maintaining law and order in the Federal Capital.

‘C-5 NUCLEAR POWER PROJECT’

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday witnessed the sign­ing of a Memorandum of Under­standing (MoU) between Paki­stan and China for a 1200 MW Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-5 (C-5) worth $3.48 billion here. President of China National Nu­clear Corporation Overseas Ltd (CNOS) and Member Power, Pa­kistan Atomic Energy Commis­sion (PAEC) Muhammad Saeed Ur Rehman signed the MoU.

Speaking on the occasion, Shehbaz Sharif said the nucle­ar power project was a great step forward towards econom­ic cooperation between the two countries.The prime minister said decision to start this proj­ect had been taken and the main conditions were agreed during previous government of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but the successive government put this project in cold storage. 

He said keeping view of the higher international inflation, the project cost would have been much higher than that de­termined in 2017-18 but the Chinese government not only abstained from raising the cost according to the inflation but also gave a discount of around Rs 30 billion. 

Vowing to kick start the proj­ect without delay, the prime minister said under the diffi­cult economic situation, invest­ment from China in this project to the tune of $3.48 billion sent a clear message that Pakistan was a place where Chinese com­panies and investors continued to show their trust and faith. 

“This reflects the famous quote that our friendship is higher than Himalayas, deeper than the deepest ocean, sweet­er than sugar and honey, and stronger than iron and steel. He said President Xi Jinping had called this friendship as iron brothers. He said recently he also inaugurated K-3 nuclear project in Karachi. 

He said owing to the econom­ic challenges, Pakistan was en­gaged with the Internation­al Monetary Fund (IMF) trying to finalize the 9th review. “Pa­kistan has met all conditions required by the IMF that has been done three months ago, but there has been inordinate delay”, he said adding that Chi­na once again had come to Paki­stan’s rescue. 

Other than China, he said Paki­stan had also great friends such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qa­tar that had been and still sup­porting the country. However, he said at this critical juncture, Chinese support was outstand­ing. “We are deeply obliged to President Xi, Chinese leader­ship, sincere thanks to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and his team for working hard to strike the agreement with the Chinese counterpart.” He also thanked Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Power Minister Khurram Dastgir who worked diligent­ly in this regard. Especially, he thanked the new military lead­ership for taking interest in this project. This is a beautiful com­bination that all political parties and military leadership are on one page,” he added. 

He also paid tribute to Nawaz Sharif who, for the first time in 1993 made an agreement with China for a nuclear power proj­ect. PM Shehbaz said during the last few months, China also re­newed commercial and sover­eign loans which reflected un­paralleled friendship between the two countries.