Mardan
Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) spokesman Dr Muzamil Iqbal Hashmi has called for a stronger local government system and new administrative units in view of the country’s growing population.
He said Pakistan’s existing system had faced serious failures, leaving people struggling with problems related to electricity, petroleum, wheat, education, healthcare, infrastructure and employment.
He said political stability, long-term planning and fundamental reforms were necessary to take the country out of its continuing crises. He expressed these views while speaking to journalists and party workers at Mardan Press Club and later talking to journalists at a local hotel in Peshawar.
PMML Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Ashfaq Khan, Mardan Division President Saqib Hussain, Division President Yawar Aftab, Deputy Information Secretary Taha Muneeb, Social Media Coordinator Hanzala Imad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spokesman Muhammad Abdullah were also present.
Dr Hashmi said prolonged load-shedding was unacceptable if billions of rupees were being paid to independent power producers (IPPs) in capacity payments. He said power shortages of 16 to 18 hours, despite payments to plants that remained closed, showed that the existing energy system had failed.
He said repeated fluctuations in petroleum prices had created serious difficulties for industry, trade, transport workers and ordinary citizens. Farmers, he added, were also facing high costs of fertiliser, electricity and other agricultural inputs because of flawed government policies.
Dr Hashmi said public debt had increased several times since 2008, but schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and urban infrastructure had not expanded at the required pace.
He said new administrative units should be created on the basis of public welfare and consensus rather than political, linguistic or regional interests.
The spokesman said politics must become a means of public service rather than a pursuit of power or revenge. He called for all political parties to agree on a 25 to 30-year national development plan.
He also proposed annual performance reviews and white papers covering education, health, the economy and public debt at the end of each government’s term.
Dr Hashmi stressed the need to provide technical education to young people and connect them with the global job market. He also called for cheaper electricity, lower taxes and a business-friendly environment to boost exports.
He said PMML would present a comprehensive plan for institutional reform and service-oriented politics to put Pakistan on the path to development.
