PESHAWAR, Dec 28 :Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday again expressed his resolve to eliminate the status quo resisting the reforms being introduced in different sectors of the country and said they would face all resistance and pressures of corrupt mafia who had been taking advantage from the stalemate administrative systems.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the 42nd annual winter meeting of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA) and Khyber Medical College Alumni Association (KMCAA), he said the corrupt and old mafia was offering resistance to his government’s efforts to introduce reforms in the ailing government departments.
“The government will not budge from its reforms at any cost,” he declared in unequivocal words.
Leave aside such resistance in the health and education system, such elements had been working in Federal Board of Revenue, among the traders and those doing business through the smuggled goods, adding, ‘whenever you bring about reforms and changes’ to the old system, they created wrong impressions among the masses.
The prime minister reminded the nation that they should not be depressed with such a scenario as ultimately, they would win this war against corrupt mafia.
Dilating upon the difference between functioning of two sets of governments, he said his government wanted to bring about reforms and thus facing pressure and resistance.
On the other hand, in the past, different governments just focused on completing their five years term.
“It is our responsibility to face this pressure,” he said and urged the nation to support his government’s endeavours in bringing about the change with new reforms and administrative structures.
The prime minister regretted that during 1960s, Pakistan had been a leading country in the whole region in terms of development. But afterwards, it lagged behind due to the status quo and corrupt system, and even Bangladesh had excelled economically.
Citing the prevalent rustic administrative system and bureaucratic hurdles, he said bringing about a change would be a difficult task, but those nations had succeeded that faced it and referred to successful reforms introduced in Malaysia and Turkey by their political leadership.
The prime minister urged the members of APPNA to effectively highlight the ongoing Indian government’s brutalities in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) which had turned the whole occupied valley into an ‘open air jail’ for last five months.
He said whatever, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Bharatiya Janata Party (RSS-BJP) led fascist and racist Indian government had been doing in the occupied Kashmir and across its country had been sheer violations of the international laws.
The prime minister likened these patterns of oppression and ethnic cleansing of minorities to those of Hitler Nazi’s regime.
It was unprecedented in the modern history that about eight million Kashmiris had been put under open air prison, he said adding, the controversial Citizens Act was also being strongly opposed by all communities living inside India as it was aimed to target Muslim minority.
The prime minister said it was a crucial time for the whole world and Pakistan because fearing from the backlash after lifting of curfew in IOJ&K and home agitation, the Indian government could resort to some kind of misadventure ‘false flag operation’ against Pakistan to divert increasing global attention from its burning domestic issues.
“But the genie had come out of the bottle,“ he said, adding that in Myanmar similar acts were taken for the ethnic cleansing of the Muslims.
The ceremony was also attended by Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shah Farman, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, provincial ministers, provincial assembly members and high officials.
The prime minister said his government was committed to bring investment in the country through ease of doing business initiatives.
He cited a report of the World Bank which marked the progress the country had made in the ease of doing business and economic outlook.
The prime minister said they were aware of the issues faced by the overseas Pakistanis and were making all out efforts to facilitate them.
Recalling his interaction with the overseas Pakistanis due to his long cricket career experience abroad spanning over about two decades, he said it was a vast interaction which no political figure in the country could ever claim to have.
The prime minister said the overseas Pakistanis possessed huge talent and qualification which could be beneficial for their homeland.
He said Allah Almighty had gifted Pakistan with immense potential and natural resources including water, minerals and gold which required to be tapped for the prosperity of the country.
The prime minster welcomed the delegates and appreciated their expertise and mentioned his experiences in the establishment of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospitals in Lahore and Peshawar.
He said both got international recognition and certification because of the study and administrative system based upon successful mechanism being practiced abroad.
In Pakistan, the corrupt system wanted to create hurdles in the way of reforms programme introduced by his government in the public sector hospitals by misguiding it as privatization attempt and pushing the people to agitate and sabotage it.
The prime minister linked provision of quality services as must for ideal functioning of different institutes, saying that the system in the country had collapsed in past as it lacked these qualities.
He said here the administrative system in the government-run hospital had decayed due to the bureaucratic system.
Efforts were being made in the KPK hospitals with reforms so that the public sector hospitals could compete with the private hospitals, in provision of quality health facilities and efficient administration system.
The prime minister said 2019 had been the year of challenges for his government but they stabilized the country economically by overcoming the current and fiscal accounts deficits.
Now the investment had been on the increase, stock market showing brisk business, and the bleeding corporations now turned into profit making entities.
Declaring the year, 2020, as the brighter year for the country, the prime minister said China had been assisting and supporting Pakistan through various China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, besides provision of latest technical and scientific education to the country’s youth.
