Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday directed the senior police officers and bureaucrats of Punjab to do away with old mindset and system for its incompatibility with the vision of Naya Pakistan and fully focus on safeguarding the common man’s rights.
In a meeting with the bureaucrats and senior police officers in Lahore during his day-long visit, the prime minister instructed them to carry out their duties purely on merit and strictly advised them not to fulfill any illegal demand of any political figure, a PM Office press release said.
Congratulating the newly posted officers, the prime minister said up to 1960s, Pakistan had a distinction in the governance, bureaucracy and policies. However, he said, Pakistan is currently going through a critical stage which requires economic stability. He said the national economy is getting stable for what he has also felicitated his economic team.
The prime minister told the meeting that the government has made all the appointments in bureaucracy and other posts on merit and has freed the officers from all political pressures. A competent bureaucracy is inevitable to bring about the economic development, he added.
The prime minister called for improving the law and order and governance system in Punjab province. “In Naya Pakistan, we have to change the old mindset. Old system can no more continue,” he remarked.
The prime minister told the senior officers that public service is their foremost responsibility and asked them to strive for uplifting the living standard of the poor man. Assuring the officers to ensure security of their service tenure, the prime minister also instructed them to curb the child abuses and protect the powerless against the powerful elements.
The prime minister advised the officers to exercise their legal powers only for public service and to uplift their living standards. “In the past, the police stations used to protect the influential ones. But now, your duty is to protect the poor against the powerful ones,” he instructed.
Separately, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the provision of loan to the small farmers and small and medium industry is the government’s priority for both being the major sources of employment and poverty alleviation.
Addressing a signing ceremony of Service Level Agreement between Punjab Land Record Authority (PLRA) and major private commercial banks, the prime minister said it is a revolution to ease out the procedural difficulties the farmers had to face to get credit so far.
Under the agreement, a digital link would be established between the central database of land records and the banks which would verify the status of land of the farmers reducing the loan processing time from 30 days to three days and just after three visits of the bank. He said through this initiative, a common farmer would get agriculture loan by visiting a bank and getting his land record verified without any hassle. “This is a revolution… This is a beginning and a tremendous job. Because getting loans by the small farmers has almost been impossible so far. Even small and medium industry which is the backbone of an economy and creates the most employment also faces difficulties to get loan,” he remarked.
