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Karachi: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will soon convene a meeting of the country’s political leadership to apprise them of security conditions in Pakistan and the emerging situation in the region. The Prime Minister was addressing the business community of Karachi in Governor House on Friday.
He said that political and economic stability of the country was interlinked and directed the Sindh Government to take across the board action against criminals, target killers and extortionists and bring them to justice. The Prime Minister said that only political solutions were durable and all other solutions produced short-term relief.
Gilani said that he had sent Interior Minister Rehman Malik with clear-cut directions to extend full cooperation to the Sindh Government in its endeavours to bring normalcy in the metropolis, which is the economic hub of the country.
He said that it was the basic responsibility of the government to protect the life and property of its citizens.
The government, he added, is aware of its responsibilities and expressed his firm resolve that the government would not leave the city at the mercy of gangsters and mafias.
Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said that thousand acres of state land in Karachi worth billions of rupees would be retrieved from the land grabbers after the passage of the given period regardless of their party affiliation or status.
The Prime Minister while responding to a question said that a Committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of the Finance Minister, which would submit to the Cabinet a restructuring plan of the public sector enterprises, such as PIA, Pakistan Steel Mills, Railways etc, which had been running into huge losses and causing large holes in the pocket of national exchequer.
Gilani highly appreciated the resilience of the Pakistani nation and expressed his confidence that it would overcome the difficult period of its history as it had done so in the past.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan had good relations with other countries of the world but the focus had shifted to the regional and neighbourly countries because strengthening of relations with these nations within the geographical proximity serves the national interest in the best possible way.
He said that it also builds bridges among people, so critical for sustaining long-term friendships based on mutual respect and equality.
The Prime Minister assured the business community that defence of Pakistan was strong and the nation would not allow any aggressor to fiddle with its frontiers.
The people, he said, stood with their armed forces which are fully capable to defend the frontiers of the country.
Earlier, the business community of Karachi called upon the Prime Minister Gilani to amend the laws so that criminals are denied the benefit due to lacuna in the process of law and administration of justice.
They also urged upon the Prime Minister to direct Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Ministries of Finance and Commerce to simplify the procedures, which deal with business community and also formulate policies on the long-term basis.
They appreciated the efforts of the law enforcement agencies, Federal and the Provincial Governments for bringing substantial improvement in the law and order situation in Karachi, adding that it should further be improved for the betterment of the country’s economy.
They emphasized that unauthorized mobile sims must be blocked as 70 per cent crimes are committed through their misuse.
They lauded that country’s exports had touched the unprecedented benchmark of 25 billion dollars and remittances had gone up to $ 11 billion, which were, in fact 15 billion dollars because remittances to the extent of four billion dollars are also received through unofficial channels.
Governor Sindh Dr. Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Interior Minister Rehman Malik were present on the occasion.
Prominent businessmen who attended the meeting included: Siraj Qasim Teeli, S.M. Muneer, Zubair Motiwala, Saeed Shafique, Aqeel Karim Daddy and S. Ali Habib.
For more information, contact:
Sindh Governor House
Syed Wajahat Ali
Press Secretary to Governor
Tel: 99201217, 99201201-3
Email: press_secretary@governorsindh.gov.pk