Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday emphasized that out-of-box solutions are required to boost economic growth in these crucial times as the Covid-19 has adversely impacted the world economy.
Chairing a meeting of the finance and economy think-tank, he said that from day one, the government adopted a strategy to maintain a balance between sustaining economic activity and protecting the masses from infectious disease of Covid-19.
Advisor on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Advisor on Institutional Reforms Dr Ishrat Hussain, Governor State Bank of Pakistan Raza Baqir and former finance secretary Dr Waqar Masood Khan were present, the PM Office said in a press release.
Advisor on Commerce Abdul Razaq Dawood, Shaukat Tareen, Sultan Alana, Dr Ijaz Nabi and Arif Habib participated via video-link. Advisor on finance briefed the meeting about the objectives and focus areas of the think-tank on finance and economy.
The prime minister directed that regular feedback of the think-tank be provided to him on various ongoing initiatives, policies and programmes of the government. He emphasized that their prime focus was on providing relief to the poor segments of society through targeted subsidies. He said the Ehsaas programme is the flagship programme of the government to alleviate poverty and required expansion along with a strategy to reach the neediest. He highlighted that a substantive package has been announced for the construction and housing sector that aims at increasing much-needed employment opportunities and economic stimulus as well as adding to the inventory of affordable housing for the poor. He also highly appreciated the proposals presented by the think-tank regarding banking and finance, further improving the Ehsaas programme and facilitating SMEs.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan, while recounting his ‘shocked’ and ‘appalled’ memories of Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims 25 years ago, urged the world community to take notice and forestall the recurrence of such genocide in the Indian-held Kashmir (IHK). “I remember the day very well. I remember when it happened. We were all shocked. Even when I still remember 25 years ago when it happened, I still feel the shock as how such a thing could have been allowed by the world community,” the prime minister said in his televised message to the nation and the world community on the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre.
More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed after the Bosnian Serb Army attacked Srebrenica, a designated UN safe area, on July 10-11, 1995, despite the presence of UN peacekeepers. In addition to the killings, more than 20,000 civilians were expelled from the area. The massacre is termed the worst episode of mass murder within Europe since World War II.
The prime minister said everyone with a feeling of humanity had been ‘shocked’ and ‘appalled’ as how such massacre could happen in the safe area of the United Nations peacekeeping troops. He urged the world community to learn a lesson from that massacre and must never allow such things to happen again, referring to the problems in the IOJK where, he said, 800,000 Indian troops had besieged eight million Kashmiri people. “And we all fear that similar sort of massacre might follow there. The world community must take notice and never allow such acts to take place again,” the prime minister emphasized. He also conveyed his salam (greetings) and best wishes to the people of Bosnia, from the people of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi Saturday said the ongoing killings in Kashmir and Palestine are ‘chillingly similar’ to the genocide of Bosnian Muslim known as Srebrenica Massacre. “July 2020 marks 25 years since the Srebrenica Massacre, the murder of over 8000 Bosnian Muslims & ethnic cleansing of over 20’000 people. The world has a collective responsibility to ensure history is not repeated,” the foreign minister said on his twitter handle.
He said that what was happening in the Kashmir and Palestine is chillingly similar to the Srebrenica Massacre. In another tweet, the foreign minister categorically said, “There is no question of recognition of Israel and no change in stance on accepting Al-Quds Al Sharif as capital of Palestine.”
