President Asif Ali Zardari has told business community that government is trying to resolve the issues of loadshedding of electricity and gas on a priority basis.
Talking to delegations of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pakistan Textile Exporters Association, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association and other leaders of value-added textile industries, at National Textile University, here on Monday, he invited the business community leaders to Islamabad for a detailed meeting.
He said the government is actively working on development projects, which will solve problems of water, electricity and unemployment in the next three years. During the meeting, Mian Muhammad Latif, Chairman of Chenab Limited and former Chairman, Pakistan Textile Exporters Association said that due to terrorist activities overseas buyers are reluctant to visit Pakistan while local industrialists and exporters are going abroad to obtain export orders.
Due to prevailing situation, they were not in a position to fulfil the requirements of their buyers and loadshedding of gas and electricity was yielding negative impact on the productive activities. President Zardari announced Rs 500 million for Research and Development Work at Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He also agreed with the demand for the setting up of Lahore High Court Bench at Faisalabad and the upgradation of Faisalabad Airport for international flights.
The meeting was also attended by Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer, Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Minister for Textiles Rana Farooq Saeed Khan, Chairman Faisalabad Garment City, Rana Mushtaq Khan, provincial ministers and a large number of parliamentarians.
Earlier, the President inaugurated four development projects in the industrial city. These projects are aimed at improving the electricity transmission and distribution system and development projects of National Textile University. He also announced an amount of Rs 100 million for the development of the NTU.
The President, who has reviewed development projects and launched a series of new projects, arrived here by road owing to bad weather. The President inaugurated Gakkar Machi 500 KV Grid Station and 500 KV Muzaffargarh-Gatti Transmission Line, completed at a cost of Rs 450 million in two years.
The project will help improve electricity transmission system for the areas adjoining Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot and Lahore. The system also includes two circuits of 220 KV and eight circuits of 122 KV for Gujranwala. Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf presented the President a shield. The President also performed the groundbreaking of new administrative and academic blocks at the National Textiles University.
Addressing a public meeting in Punjabi language, President Asif Ali Zardari said that the government is working on projects which will resolve problems of water, electricity and unemployment in the next three years. "We will provide Roti, Kapra Aur Makan to every Pakistani," he added.
He said there were some who were not in his favour, as they could not reconcile to the fact that a President who loved empowerment of the masses was now sitting in the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar later told newsmen that the President in his meetings with the delegations of Peoples Lawyers Forum, youth delegations, Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and party workers said all the mega projects that he has inaugurated so far were the fulfilment of the dream of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Farhatullah Babar quoted President Zardari as saying that the government was mindful of the needs of energy for the economic and industrial development of the country. "We have decided to upgrade our existing power stations as well as produce more power through rental power plants. Energy development is the central issue in our partnership with the United States," he added.
The President mentioned the announcement of 125 million dollars from the United States for the upgradation of Tarbela hydroelectric station to meet the country's energy shortfall. He said the government has adopted a new economic policy framework based on reliance on public-private partnership as engine of economic and industrial growth, making the workers partners in development projects, optimising utilisation of scarce water resources, and development of bio-fuel.
President Zardari said the Chinese investors had shown keen interest in investing in Pakistan within the framework of private-public partnership. He said Pakistan has taken a firm decision to rely on trade and not aid for overcoming its economic problems and was seeking greater access to international markets for Pakistani products.
"This will boost industrial production in the country and create additional jobs," he said. President Zardari said Shaheed Mohtarma wanted the uplift of the workers and wage earners. He said it was in this regard that shares have been given to the workers in state run enterprises."
"The workers are now share holders in these enterprises and have been given 12 percent shares." President Zardari said the government has undertaken plans to build thirty two dams in the country under the private public partnership. "These dams will not only improve the water situation but also produce power," he said and added that building of dams will transform the lives of the people of the area. The spokesperson said the President also informed the plans to build housing units for the poor in Sindh and also mentioned the Aghaz-e- Haqooq-e-Balochistan.
The President recalled the political reform package for Gilgit and Baltistan and said now it has its own Chief Minister, Governor, Public Service Commission and Election Commission. He said Pakistan has entered into agreement with China for hybrid seeds and drip irrigation and said work on the Jhelum-Neelum project will begin this year. "These measures will revolutionise farming sector in Punjab and other provinces as we believe in action, not in mere words."
President Zardari said when the government took over after general election in 2008 the country faced near bankruptcy. "We had to take some very unpopular decisions to take the country out of the near economic meltdown," the President said. He also recalled that at the international level, 25 nations and international institutions were brought together on the platform of Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP).
The FoDP have pledged clear-cut strategic support for Pakistan's political and economic stability and in the war against terror. President Zardari also made mention of historic consensus on 7th NFC Award. President Zardari said the issue of the Constitutional amendments and the repeal of the 17th Amendment was already before the Parliamentary Committee. "In my two addresses to the Parliament I have asked that the Constitution be rid of all undemocratic amendments."
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