PM Shehbaz says willing to talk with PTI leadership in 'larger national interest'

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Thursday that he was willing to talk with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership in the "larger national interest," APP reported.

The premier said he was ready to give "any sacrifice for keeping the national interest as the primary concern."

Addressing the launch ceremony of “Youth Development Initiatives” in Islamabad, the prime minister said: “You didn’t shake [my] hand for four years and now you’re saying to ‘come to talk with us’? Till when will this two-facedness continue? But, we will be ready for it for the sake of national interest.”

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The premier announced initiatives of providing 20,000 internships to young engineers and 75 scholarships to students for studies in the top universities of the world.

The Ministry of Planning and Development will carry out the youth initiatives, which also include spending Rs 40 billion in 20 most underdeveloped districts and building 250 mini-sports complexes.

The prime minister said the programme would be expanded further and more initiatives would be launched for the youth.

Referring to his initiatives as Punjab chief minister, he said the government of Pakistan Muslim League(N) under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif had undertaken different programmes for providing high-quality education, scholarships and laptops to millions of students.

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The prime minister said his provincial government set up the Punjab endowment fund and in eight years Rs 20 billion were given as scholarships to high achievers in studies.

Millions of students were equipped with technical education under the Punjab Skills Development Programme, he recalled.

Hundreds of students were sent to Turkiye and China so that they could learn Turkish and Chinese. Now many of these Chinese-speaking Pakistanis were working on the project of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as interpreters and translators, Shehbaz added.

About 75,000 vehicles were distributed among people so that they could earn their living, he said during his tenure in Punjab, Danish schools were established so that orphans and children from less privileged backgrounds could get an education.

He said the federal allied government saved Pakistan from economic default and distributed Rs 66 billion among families affected by the floods, through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

Billions of rupees were also spent on the provision of food, drinking water, medicines, blankets, tents and mosquito nets to the flood-hit people, he said adding Pakistan’s friends including China, Turkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, the United States, United Kingdom and European Union provided assistance to Pakistan for citizens devastated by floods.

The prime minister said it was unfortunate that billions of dollars of the nation were wasted by delaying the construction of projects such as the Neelum Jhelum hydro project and the Reko Diq mining project.

He stressed that nation’s resources should be spent on equipping youth with high-quality education instead of creating divisions and sowing seeds of hate among youth.

He assured that more funds would be allocated for the education sector and for equipping the students with the latest skills.