Daily Times

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that Imran Niazi could go to any extreme to distract attention from his culpability in the tragic events of May 9.

“Make no mistake about the evil intent behind Imran Niazi’s latest ploy to defame our law enforcement agencies and police. Yet again, he is making misleading and baseless allegations of the “rights abuses” just to distract attention for his culpability in the tragic events of May 9,” the prime minister said in a tweet. “I am not surprised by his antics,” Prime Minister Shehbaz said.

He said that someone who could persistently use foul language against the state institutions, incite people to violence and attack the state symbols and military installations, and bring down martyrs’ monuments, was capable of going to any extreme. The prime minister said that Imran Niazi presided over a disinformation apparatus that deployed fake news methodically to fool the people. “Everything about him is hate, division and lie,” he remarked. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan considered Japan as an important partner for its progress and prosperity and Japanese companies should avail the immense opportunities for investment in Pakistan. The PM was speaking to President Toyota Asia Yoshiki Konishi and Chief Executive Officer of Indus Motors Ali Asghar Jamali who called on him here.

Japan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Mitsuhiro Wada, Vice Chairman Toyota Indus Motors Shinji Yanagi, Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Murtza Mehmood, Advisor to PM Ahad Cheema, Special Assistants to PM Jehanzeb Khan and Tariq Bajwa and high ranking officials attended the meeting. In a briefing, the prime minister was told that Toyota Indus Motors for the first time established a unit for the production of hybrid vehicles in Pakistan with an investment of $100 million.

PM Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the project of Toyota to produce hybrid vehicles in Pakistan. The production of hybrid vehicles in Pakistan would decrease the import bill resulting in saving of precious foreign exchange, he said adding the government was providing all available facilities to the industries for investment in modern technologies in the country. The Japanese ambassador said leading Japanese companies were desirous of further investment in Pakistan. During the briefing, it was told that in the current year from July, Toyota Indus Motors would start export of spare parts of vehicles and these exports would make Pakistan a part of the global supply chain.

The prime minister said exports of spare parts should be enhanced by taking benefit of the capacity of the engineering sector in the country. He said it should be ensured that the spare parts for the vehicles to be sold in Pakistan should be manufactured locally. The participants of the meeting lauded the prime minister for his government’s business-friendly policies.