ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday mentioned terrorism as the biggest challenge for the country to achieve social and economic prosperity.
He made these remarks during an all-important Apex Committee Session of the National Action Plan in which the premier talked about a range of issues.
He reiterated that the resurgent terror wave had become the severest issue in the country with this menace taking a heavy toll on the innocent civilians and security personnel alike.
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Without naming the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, he said protests and rallies were major reasons behind the uncertain economic situation. He stressed dialogue as key to national progress.
He said the economy of the country had been hurtling towards stability with the cooperative role of federal government and provinces. He stressed prosperity and national progress remained the core priorities of his administration.
Talking about the IMF programme, he said the federating units worked in close coordination with the centre for the approval of the recent loan deal. Mentioning the effects, the PM said inflation had come at the single digit and the stock exchange reached its pinnacle.
He showed optimism that the ongoing IMF deal would be the last one for the country. He, however, made it clear that its possibility depend upon the nature of efforts made in this regard.
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The PM due to the sincere effort, the IT exports and remittances shown clear improvement. Adding a little caveat, he said it did not mean that the economy had become completely stable but it could only be possible given foreign and domestic investment.
For instance, he mentioned that if corruption of billions of rupees was stopped, the country could well be in a position to pay back its outstanding loans.
He reiterated that social and economic stability was linked to the ending of terrorism which had wreaked monumental havoc on the country and its people with almost 80,000 victims.
The PM mentioned that the Nawaz Sharif-led government had launched a grand operation against terrorism in 2014 with this menace, he claimed, almost became extinct in 2018.
The premier said whether unnecessary rallies contributing anything to the interest of the country. He said protests could be arranged at an opportune time but they were always planned at the occasion of big events in the country to stall the progress.