PM Shehbaz Sharif arrives in Karachi on a day-long visit.
Holds meetings with MQM-P and PML-N delegations.
Visits Nawabshah to condole with Asif Zardari over his mother’s death.
KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday that Pakistan wants to have good relations with its neighbouring countries, but its desire for peace should not be considered a weakness.
In his address at the passing out ceremony at the naval academy, the prime minister — who is on a day’s visit to Karachi — said the navy plays an important role in guarding the country’s maritime borders.
“…I am also proud of the Pakistan Army for making the defence impregnable,” he added.
The prime minister expressed happiness over witnessing women cadets in the passing out parade.
“You are a guiding light for all Pakistani women,” he said.
On his arrival in the city, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah received PM Shehbaz and later the premier inspected a guard of honour during the passing out parade at the naval academy.
Political meetings
The prime minister held a detailed meeting with CM Sindh to discuss the overall political and development situation in the province, sources said.
Apart from this, he also met with delegations from the PML-N and MQM-P.
The MQM-P delegation stressed the appointment of a governor and the implementation of the agreement that was made with the PPP when the then-opposition sought MQM-P’s support to oust the PTI government.
MQM-P Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui led the delegation, while Federal Minister for Information and Technology Aminul Haque, and senior party leaders Wasim Akhtar and Kanwar Naveed Jameel were also part of it.
MQM-P complains to PM over non-implementation of agreement
After the meeting concluded, sources told Geo News that MQM-P complained to PM Shehbaz over non-implementation of the agreement the latter had signed with the PDM parties to topple the Imran Khan-led government.
Sources said that the MQM-P complained to the premier over PPP’s “slowness” in implementing of the agreement that had made with the PDM parties. It also expressed regret over the delay in the legislation that the MQM had demanded to be made on the Sindh local government law in light of the Supreme court decision.
On the other hand, PM Shehbaz assured the MQM-P that he will form a committee for the implementation of the agreement made with the Karachi-based party. He also assured the MQM-P that he will speak to the PPP, which is ruling in Sindh, over the implementation of the agreement.
The sources also told Geo News that the premier took the MQM-P into confidence over the decisions taken by the federal government on the economy.
PM condoles with Asif Ali Zardari
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (centre right) offers prayers for PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s (centre left) mother who passed away earlier this week in Nawabshah, on June 25, 2022. — Prime Minister’s Office
Later, the prime minister travelled to Nawabshah to offer condolences to PPP Co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari on the demise of the latter’s mother.
Four Pakistanis were saved from people traffickers in Iran. As the number of cases of trafficking in persons has grown, the Embassy of Pakistan has worked with the Government of Iran to save four Pakistani citizens. Because of the rescue effort, the people who were smuggling people were also caught. The Pakistanis officially came to Iran, but they were later taken by a group of people traffickers who tortured them and told their families they needed a large ransom to free them. Their lives were saved when the embassy of Pakistan and the government of Iran stepped in at the right time. In his message, Ambassador Muhammad Mudassir Tipu asked Pakistanis who want to visit Iran to do so properly and keep in touch with the Embassy of Pakistan in case something goes wrong. He also told them to stay alert so they wouldn’t fall victim to Human Smugglers. The rescued Pakistanis, Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, Muhammad Suhail, Muhammad Arsalan, and Muhammad Khurram, expressed their gratitude to the Embassy of Pakistan and the Government of Iran for their untiring efforts in securing their release
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb says that the government’s policies have made Pakistan’s economy stable over the past year. He talked about lower inflation and interest rates, more foreign exchange assets, and the stabilisation of the currency in an interview with the Global Media Company Forbes. In talking about the structural changes and how important it is to get local investors involved, Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the government’s main goal is to make the economy stable so that investments can come in. According to the finance minister, Pakistan has the third-largest number of freelancers in the world. The government is working to make the environment more favourable for them so that they can get a lot of investment and grow the economy through exports.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met with Pakistan’s Chief Justice Yahya Afridi in the Chief Justice House. They talked about important topics such economic difficulties, ongoing tax cases in the nation’s courts, and judicial reforms. The Prime Minister offered his best wishes and congratulated Chief Justice Afridi on taking office at the meeting. He commended the Chief Justice’s initiative in making sure that justice is delivered in a timely and effective manner. The Chief Justice’s efforts to visit remote areas of South Punjab, Interior Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in order to conduct personal assessments of the legal system were especially welcomed by the Prime Minister. Afridi’s interactions with many stakeholders to reform the legal framework and increase access to justice were also praised by him. The Prime Minister emphasised the need for prompt and merit-based decisions to support economic stability and offer relief to businesses by highlighting the long-pending tax cases in several courts. He asked the Chief Justice to expedite decisions in certain instances in order to clear the backlog of cases. The Prime Minister’s opinion was welcomed by Chief Justice Afridi, who also asked for more recommendations on how to strengthen the judicial system. In response, the prime minister pledged his complete cooperation in restoring the judiciary’s effectiveness and putting changes into place. Along with reaffirming his commitment to tackling the missing persons issue, the Prime Minister gave the Chief Justice his word that he will step up efforts to expedite meaningful measures in this respect.