News
Monday, March 28, 2011
No nation can achieve progress through aid, says Shahbaz
* Punjab chief minister says country under heavy burden of loans
Staff Report
LAHORE: No nation can achieve progress through foreign aid and had it been so the situation in Pakistan, which is under a foreign debt of $63 billion, would have been different and there would have been no poverty or backwardness, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Sunday.
The Punjab CM said that that foreign assistance had become a habit, while foreign loans have shaken the foundation of the country. Pakistan has a heavy burden of loans due to which it has to take dictation from others, said Shahbaz while addressing a function regarding distribution of interest-free Qarz-e-Hasna to 3,500 families by the Akhuwat Trust.
He said it was unfortunate that today’s Pakistan did not reflect the vision of its founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah or that of Allama Iqbal. Nor it is the country for which the Muslims rendered innumerable sacrifices, he added. He said that Pakistan was created so that all its citizens could have equal rights. While the rich have all luxuries at their disposal, the common man is deprived of even basic necessities, like healthcare and education, he added.
Equitable distribution of resources is essential for making Pakistan an Islamic welfare state in the true sense, while equipping the youth with the latest knowledge is inevitable in order to give up reliance on others, Shahbaz told the gathering at the Samaa Hall of Data Darbar.
Local resources have not been developed and the country relies on foreign aid, the nation has not achieved economic independence while its nuclear programme is also irritating others, he said. Shahbaz said the elite would have to adopt austerity and divert resources towards poor, as it was the only way to regain the lost status of the country. The Punjab government has diverted all its resources for the welfare of the people and besides provision of free medicines, dialysis facilities and air-conditioners in hospitals, quality education is also being provided to the poor, he said. The Punjab Educational Endowment Fund has been set up for talented students facing financial problems while the amount of the fund, which was Rs 2 billion, has now been increased to Rs 10 billion. He said that talented students of Punjab as well as other provinces of the country were also being provided scholarships from this fund.
The Akhuwat Trust Chief Executive, Dr Amjad Saqib, national and provincial assemblies’ members, philanthropists and a large number of people from various walks of life were gathered at the occasion.
Shahbaz said the fund of Rs 10,000 with which the scheme was started by the Akhuwat Trust ten years ago, had now reached the figure of one billion rupees and 90 thousand families have benefited from the scheme.
The Akhuwat Trust has set a noble example of public service and a large number of people who wish to stand on their feet through earning their living honourably are benefiting from this scheme, he added.
Shahbaz credited the trusts’ chief executive, Dr Amjad Saqib, for this achievement. He said the Punjab government would also associate with the Akhuwat Trust and extend all-out cooperation for furthering the noble cause. Dr Amjad Saqib, while addressing the gathering, said that the trust has given loans of Rs 1 billion to poor families. More than 90,000 families are associated with this institution and now the scope of this programme has been extended to Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk