‘One year in power’: PM Shehbaz talks about challenges and difficulties

On the one-year anniversary of assuming power as the head of the coalition government, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that this has been a successful tenure that resulted in Pakistan’s restored credibility and overcoming of the country’s financial and energy challenges.

In a series of tweets, the Premier wrote, “Today marks the completion of one year since I took oath as PM of a coalition government. This has been a time of massive challenges & difficulties. Here’s my perspective on this year.”

“The passage of No-Confidence Vote against Imran Niazi’s government was unprecedented not because PDM came into power but because almost all of Pakistan’s political forces came together to use the forum of Parliament to vote out an unpopular govt through constitutional means,” tweeted Shehbaz.

The premier further said that the coming together of political parties with different manifestos for a common national cause represented a major step forward in the country’s political evolution. “Reconciliation & cooperation, not confrontation & vendetta mark the new politics post-April ’22,” tweeted Shehbaz.

He said that despite the economic landmines laid by Imran Khan and disruptions in global fuel and food supply lines, Pakistan’s economy continued to stay afloat. “All predictions of default have turned out to be false alarms. Sincere efforts are underway to revive the economy,” wrote the premier.

“Coalition govt has been at pains to repair, rebuild & deepen Pakistan’s diplomatic relations that were dealt a severe blow by Niazi regime. I can inform people that over the last one year, we have largely succeeded in establishing Pakistan’s credibility as a partner & friend.”

Talking about challenges, PM Shehbaz said, “Pakistan faced unprecedented floods last year. The decisiveness with which the government undertook rescue, relief & rehabilitation efforts, provided social protection to millions of people & mobilized international community has been acknowledged by the world as outstanding.”

“Government employed climate diplomacy to present Pakistan’s case on the international stage. As Chair of G77 plus China, we were instrumental in the establishment of loss & damage fund. Pledges of USD 9 billion at Geneva moot are evidence of our successful diplomacy.”

“In the last one year, we have made efforts to diversify the energy mix with an aim to provide relief to the citizens. The renewed focus on solar, hydel, and coal power projects is aimed at replacing the costlier sources of power generation with cheaper ones.”

“Inflation has hit people hard globally. Geo-strategic rivalries, increase in prices of the fuel & food commodities & historic floods are some of the key factors responsible for inflation. Mindful of its impact, govt has expanded social safety net & provided targeted subsidies,” tweeted Shehbaz.

“Under the watch of the PDM government, Pakistan managed to exit the FATF grey list, thanks to the excellent inter-ministerial coordination as well as support extended by our military leadership. It was a long journey but sustained efforts made it possible.”

“Building on the public transport infrastructure, govt., since its inception in April last year, focused on early completion of the development and transport infrastructure projects in Islamabad.”

“Idea was to provide ease, comfort & affordable mobility to the people Pakistan,” said PM Shehbaz.