Shahbaz Sharif addresses during the inauguration ceremony at the Indus Hospital in Lahore on Sunday. Twitter photo

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the first phase of 600-bed Indus Hospital in Lahore on Sunday, the prime minister said that the situation is difficult at present but soon it will improve and Pakistan will progress at a fast pace.

He said that we will have to think beyond personal interest for the country's progress and development. He hailed the philanthropists who set up and run trust hospitals for the needy and ailing humanity. He said that sincere sentiments of good natured people who work for any government should not be given political colour.

The prime minister said that a consensus should be developed over the national economy in such a manner that it should not be disturbed with change of governments. He opined that there were certain sectors of the economy like IT and industrialisation through which the country could move ahead.

The prime minister underlined that they should think above themselves and their personal likes and dislikes and accord top priority to the progress and prosperity of the nation.

The prime minister maintained that a country could not survive on debts. He regretted that Pakistan should have been in the forefront of the Islamic world in terms of progress and development.

Comparing Pakistan’s export volume with neighbouring Bangladesh, he said its annual exports now touched $40 billion mark while Pakistan had an export value of$ 27-28 billion annually.

The prime minister referring to the global economic meltdown said that they had increased the petroleum prices with a “heavy heart.” He also termed the previous government’s decision of decreasing petroleum prices in the month of March as a ploy as they had not extended any kind of relief to the masses during their rule.

Shahbaz further assured that they would try their best to provide relief to the poor and said that the government was looking to ease out impacts of price hike by extending financial relief to over 70 million population. He stressed that they had to stand on their feet with sheer qualities of hard work, sacrifices, unity and proper planning.

About loadshedding, the prime minister said that he had chaired an emergency meeting and directed for a mechanism to decrease its duration. There should be no more than two hours of loadshedding, he added.

He said the previous government of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) could not make arrangements for the purchase of oil and gas as these two components were mainly used for producing power and now these had been priced very high in the global market. He also hinted to announce further austerity measures shortly in the face of economic challenges.

The prime minister said that he was ready to be held accountable for his two and half months rule but “what about the previous rulers who had governed the country in the last three and half years?” He expressed the optimism that with unity and hard work, the country would rise to the horizon and no one would be able to match its speed.

The prime minister while lauding the efforts of the Indus hospital administration and founders urged the philanthropists to come forward and donate generously for alleviation of the sufferings of the poor and deserving people in the field of health and education. He said with such noble deeds, they could earn the blessings of this mundane world and the world hereafter.

He also lauded the contribution of Dr Amjad Saqib and said if good and generous people wanted to extend support to the government in the provision of relief to the masses in the health sector, they should be encouraged and not politically targeted.

NNI News Service