Says west’s suspicion about CPEC, Gwadar projects makes no sense
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that our manifesto is to establish rule of law and welfare state in the country and his decision to enter politics was to save the country from corrupt rulers as corruption makes the country poor. Prime Minister Imran Khan, in an interview with Eric Li, Director of the Advisory Committee of Fudan University, said that the country which does not bring the powerful to justice will become failed state. My party’s manifesto is the rule of law and the establishment of a welfare state, he reiterated.
Talking about Afghanistan crisis, Imran Khan said that Americans have not read the history of Afghanistan because people who are familiar with the history of Afghans would not have done what America did. Prime Minister Khan dismissed the “suspicion” of Western countries about the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Gwadar port and said the projects were a great opportunity for regional development. “The suspicion about CPEC and Gwadar makes no sense…We invite other countries to join as well,” he said.
Imran Khan said the projects would prove beneficial not only for Pakistan and China but for the entire region. He said his top priority was the uplift of 220 million people of Pakistan, adding that these projects in this regard would help in poverty alleviation and wealth creation. Asked about the accusations of the United States and Europe on the genocide of Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang province, Khan said the reports received from Pakistan’s envoy in China after his visit to the province were “completely different”.
Prime Minister Khan said that it was among the government’s priorities to incentivize the rapid industrialization in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) through massive investment. The prime minister, chairing a meeting on SEZs Facilitation Model and Regulatory Guillotine for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) under PM’s Priority Sector Progress Review, said the government was focused on attracting maximum foreign direct investment (DFI) in the country.
Earlier, the prime minister was apprised that 112 out of 167 reforms identified by the Board of Investment (BOI) had been implemented to ensure ease of doing business for all potential investors in SEZs. The remaining 55 reforms will also sail through necessary regulatory approvals within a month, it was told. The prime minister was informed that all chambers of commerce and industries and trade associations across Pakistan had thanked the prime minister for his government’s remarkable reforms for the facilitation of investors. The provincial chief secretaries joined the meeting via video link.
Prime Minister Khan has awarded ten ministers with appreciation certificates for their outstanding performance. A ceremony to this effect was held here on Thursday. Those who received the certificates from the Prime Minister included Minister for Communications Murad Saeed, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Sania Nishtar, Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiyar, Advisor on National Security Division Dr Moeed Yusuf, Adviser on Commerce Razak Dawood, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, and Minister for National Food Security Fakhar Imam.