Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said his government was serving the masses rising above political affiliation with the sole objective of making Pakistan prosperous. Addressing a huge gathering here at Mai Heer Stadium to distribute cheques among farmers under the Rs 341 billion Prime Minister”s Kisan Package, he said his government was proud to have launched one of the largest packages in Pakistan”s history for a large agriculture community, who was the backbone of the national economy.
He said under the package, the farmers would also be provided solar tubewells to help them lower the cost of inputs and provide them adequate water for their crops. He said the sugarcane farmers would also get a minimum of Rs 180 per 40kg for their crop. The PM said those, who claimed to be the people”s well-wishers, were in fact those who had created hurdles for the country”s agriculture community. “Expressing real sympathy, which is not merely with slogans and protests, one has to stand with the needy and practically do something for their betterment,” he added.
The Prime Minister regretted that due to hue and cry of the so-called well-wishers of the people, implementation of the Kisan Package was delayed and the benefits did not reach the agriculture community. The government filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of Pakistan which nullified the High Court”s order for the suspension of package, he added.
He said Pakistan Muslim League”s (Nawaz) government was the first to announce the gigantic Rs 341 billion package, which would directly help 1,277,000 farmers owning 5,020,436 acres of land.
He said the prices of ”Phutti,” cotton and rice, had fallen internationally, but the government stood up for the farming community and reached out to them for helping them in real terms. He recalled the marathon meetings and hard work put in to prepare the package for the farming community, and said he gave clear directives to ensure that the farmers got real benefit.
The PM said he had visited all the earthquake-hit areas to personally see the destruction and ensure that each and every affected person got due relief. Compensation was paid to those, who had suffered loss of material or life, he added. He said the federal government in consensus with the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had agreed upon the compensation package for the families of those, who had lost their loved ones or suffered material losses. The amount of compensation though was not enough to cover the losses; however, it was an expression of solidarity with the affected people.
The Prime Minister said the government was fully cognizant of the people”s sufferings and had not only reached out to the earthquake victims but also the farmers who were suffering because of low international prices of agri products. “We are doing politics of service, it is politics of values and not at all for power,” he added.
He said PML-N government at federal level stood along with the political parties that had gained majority votes in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan as it believed in serving the masses selflessly. “I do not care which party is in power and in which province, I believe in caring for the people across the country.” He said he rather believed in serving the people by rising above party politics.
The PM said the government was utilising all the resources for power generation and loadshedding would soon be a thing of the past. He said it was his government”s priority to not only produce electricity but also provide it at cheap rates to the people. He said it was also for the first time that the benefit of the decline in international petroleum prices was passed on to the people.
He said since his government was sincere in serving the masses, Allah Almighty was also helping the government in reaching out to the people. He also cited the small number of casualties and little damage to property in the October 26 earthquake of magnitude 8. The PM later distributed cheques among small farmers, having landholdings of upto 12.5 acres. He was accompanied by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Barjees Tahir, Political Advisor to PM Dr Asif Kirmani.
