LAHORE, Aug 18 (APP): Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has said that overseas Pakistanis are playing a pivotal role in the country’s economic uplift.
Addressing a gathering of overseas Pakistanis in Yokohama, Japan, she congratulated the community, saying, “Punjab will now embark on a journey of development on the pattern of Japan, by the Grace of Allah Almighty” said a handout issued here on Monday.
She assured the participants that the problems of overseas Pakistanis would be resolved on a priority basis and they would not have to wait for the redressal of their grievances. Referring to the gathering, she remarked that it felt like addressing a large congregation in Lahore.
Highlighting the economic turnaround, the CM said that in the past friendly countries were displeased with Pakistan, but by the mercy of Allah Almighty, the economy has now been set on the right path. She added that the rise in remittances reflected the public’s confidence in the government’s policies. “Overseas Pakistanis send their hard-earned money back home, and these funds must be spent on the development and progress of Pakistan,” she emphasized.
The CM said inflation had dropped from 38 percent to nearly 3-4 percent within a few months. She noted that witnessing Japan’s cleanliness, infrastructure and development, Punjab too aspires to achieve similar standards. “We are improving Punjab’s infrastructure. Potholes and load shedding returned due to the incompetence of previous rulers, but Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif had earlier laid the foundation of excellent road networks through years of hard work,” she maintained.
CM Maryam Nawaz said that 90 percent of medicines are now available free of cost in hospitals. Thousands of children have undergone heart surgeries in recent months, while specialized hospitals for cancer, blood diseases and bone marrow transplants are being established. Clinics-on-Wheels and field hospitals are providing door-to-door healthcare, while a PERA force has been set up to curb inflation and encroachment.
She said the government is rebuilding Punjab through the ‘Suthra Punjab’ project. “In Japan, people walk the streets without fear. In Punjab, due to the efforts of the CCD, crime has decreased by 70 percent. Seventy thousand people have received loans to build houses in seven months, while hundreds of houses are being constructed daily. By December, one lakh houses will be completed, and five lakh within five years,” she said.
The CM said that the ‘Apni Chhat, Apna Ghar’ program was close to Nawaz Sharif’s heart, adding that he always advised her to purify intentions and serve humanity. She announced that metro bus projects in Gujranwala and Faisalabad would soon be completed. She added the world’s largest cleanliness initiative, ‘Suthra Punjab’, had created 150,000 jobs and added machinery worth Rs 25 billion. “We want to link the Suthra Punjab program with Yokohama’s waste management system. Visitors themselves acknowledge that Punjab has never been so clean before,” she said.
Maryam Nawaz added that an Environment Force had been deployed for environmental protection, with a focus on monitoring and improving the air quality index to ensure public health.
She said that people from across Pakistan come to Punjab for medical treatment, yet the previous government failed to build even a single hospital or road in four years. The Punjab government is now constructing South Asia’s largest cancer hospital in Lahore, where rapid progress has amazed everyone. She added, “Unlike the former Prime Minister, who worked only a few hours, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif works tirelessly from morning till midnight. Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, and I are fully committed to serving the people and improving their lives.”
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