LAHORE – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Tuesday that he would auction off all Toshakhana gifts he received during his term in office and the proceeds from this auction would be spent on the welfare of orphan children.
The announcement came hours before Sharif signed the summary for dissolution of the National Assembly. He made the announcement during his interaction with delegations of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) and the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA).
“I announce auctioning off all of the gifts worth millions or rupees at Toshakhana. But the whole of the amount will go nowhere else but institutions of the orphan children whether they are welfare organisations, educational institutions or medical facilities. We will hand them over under a mechanism to support the orphans who are unable to face the challenges of life,” the premier said.
Sharif said the incumbent government inherited very tough economic conditions but the coalition parties did not imagine the severity of the situation. The previous government, he said, wasted the last four years in mere victimisation of political opponents and strained ties with friendly countries.
The prime minister said his government had tried its utmost to rectify the relations with friendly countries and had been able to control the damage to a great extent that led to the signing of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He repeatedly called for the nation, particularly the youth, to forge unity and work hard to rid the country of loans and “make Pakistan a great nation”. He also clarified that they did not victimise any political opponent, adding that his government remained extremely busy tackling the challenges of flood, inflation, economy, IMF, wheat import and foreign policy issues.
The previous government “poisoned” the society and the rectification was not that easy, he added.
With the IMF agreement, the premier said, the country was saved from default and otherwise, the situation could have been extremely difficult with long queues at filling stations and people taken to the streets.
He said even the friendly countries had linked their support with the IMF deal.
The interim as well as the next elected government would have to join heads to strengthen the state and its people through self-sufficiency as the IMF had closed the doors to subsidies, he noted.
The friendly countries including Saudi Arabia are willing to invest in Pakistan and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) would prove to be a game changer in this regard, the premier added. “The SIFC is programme for economic recovery. If it goes on, this will be a game changer.”
PM Shehbaz said he would send a summary for the dissolution of the National Assembly to the president on Wednesday and expressed the hope that the next government would pursue the SIFC vision to rid the country of loans within 5-10 years.
After the dissolution of the National Assembly, the chief election commissioner would be the right office to decide the future course of action regarding the elections.
