PM Khan says his five-year term will be successful if he ends poverty

Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Tuesday launched Raast person-to-person payment system for instant digital transactions.

PM Khan, while addressing the audience, said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) got a second chance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) because the party ended poverty in the province.

“After five years, we were given a chance again in a province which provides a second chance to no one. A report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) suggested that KP ended poverty the fastest,” said the premier, adding that we were given votes again because we ended poverty.

“I will consider myself successful by the end of 2023 when my tenure is evaluated if I have ended poverty and lifted the poor,” said PM Khan.

Sharing features of Raast, the premier said it would create ease for the common man, especially those who were afraid of going to banks because now they would be able to transfer money instantly through their mobile phones.

In addition, the digital payment system would bring people into the formal economy, he said. “A country progresses when the saving rate increases, we have amongst the lowest,” he said, adding that people would have to become part of the formal economy if the country was to progress and the tax to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio would have to be increased.

PM Imran said the government was reaching more people to bring them into the tax net, warning defaulters, “We are about to reach you because we are getting data very quickly.”

Raast is part of Prime Minister Imran’s Digital Pakistan vision to include the poor segments of society in the formal economy. It has been developed by the SBP in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Karandaaz, Pakistan.