Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif has said Muslim League leadership wants to strengthen democracy in the country. He was speaking at Al-Hamra Hall on the occasion of 133rd birth anniversary of Dr Allama Iqbal on Tuesday.
Emphasising the need of unity in the country, he said enemies of Pakistan and external forces wanted to create confusion and chaos in the country but their nefarious designs could be foiled through unity and following the philosophy and teachings of Poet of the East Allama Muhammad Iqbal.
The chief minister stressed upon the need to ascertain the real causes of the recent price hike and unemployment. He said that plundering of the hard-earned money of the people and depositing it in Swiss banks and corruption of billions of rupees are the main reasons for this poor state of affairs.
Prominent journalist Majid Nizami, CPNE head Khushnood Ali Khan, Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan, former Amir Jamaat Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Allama Iqbal's grandson Waleed Iqbal, members of national and provincial assemblies, intellectuals, prominent columnists, workers of Pakistan movement and people of all walks of life were present on the occasion.
The chief minister said sharing problems and suffering of the people was his responsibility and he had taken practical steps for this purpose under the leadership of PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif. Talking about education he said Punjab Educational Endowment Fund has been set up for the benefit of talented boy and girl students and a very large number of students, whose parents could not afford their educational expenses, were now getting higher education from this Rs six billion fund.
Shahbaz said that he was taking revolutionary measures for the welfare of the people not merely as a favour but as his responsibility. He said that it was necessary to determine the causes of poverty and unemployment in the country. Punjab CM said that rampant corruption in the country and maladministration were the reasons for this poor state of affairs. He said that many years ago a Minister of State sold his worthless land to a national insurance company for billions of rupees.
Shahbaz said that such practices were one of the main reasons of poverty and unemployment in the country. He added that people want to know why the president went on a visit to Paris and London at a time when a large number of people were suffering due to floods in the country.
He stated that he visited every nook and corner of the province during the flood and took practical measures to mitigate the sufferings of the flood-hit people. Referring to sugar crisis, the chief minister said that he sent four letters to the federal government to import sugar when its prices were down in international market to meet any shortage in future. He said that had sugar been imported at that time, it would have been available in the country for Rs 55 per Kg but his proposal was not accepted and consequently its prices have skyrocketed in the country.