Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday warned to initiate strict proceedings against those officers and responsible found creating hurdles in the proper identification of non-utilised government owned properties.
The prime minister chairing a meeting over proper utilisation of the different properties owned by the different ministries and the federal departments said in the past, non-utilisation of the government’s assets in an effective manner had manifested criminal negligence.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi, Minister for Privatisation Mohammad Mian Soomro, Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, Special Assistant on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, spokesperson for PM Nadeem Afzal Chan, federal secretaries and federal and provincial senior officials, PM office media wing said in a press release.
The prime minister directed asset management committee, relevant federal ministries and provincial governments to resolve all matters pertaining to the identified properties within a week, so that decision over their proper utilisation could be implemented.
Secretary privatisation Rizwan Malik apprised the meeting about the progress made over proper utilisation of properties owned by different ministries and federal government’s departments and their possible privatisation.
He said under the decisions of the federal cabinet, during the months of February to March, every ministry was tasked to identify at least three such properties. In the first phase, different ministries had identified 32 such properties so far.
The secretary further informed that services of a financial adviser were hired during the month of October for making assessment value of these properties, and giving final shape to the future mechanism in this regard.
He said that marketing for these properties would be held in Dubai Expo to entice the overseas Pakistanis and other investors towards such precious assets.
The prime minister said that proper utilisation of these properties and lands worth billions of rupees which had been kept unused for years and spending of income generated from their use upon the public welfare and provision of basic facilities like schools, colleges and hospitals, were the significant parts of the incumbent government’s policy.
He observed that different federal departments and institutions had been running into annual losses despite having such precious assets.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday, emphasising the importance of higher education, called for devising a comprehensive strategy for Punjab to facilitate the students.
