Daily Times

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday regretted that during the previous government’s dark period, Lahore was intentionally targeted with revenge and the international companies were unjustly harassed. Moreover, with political inductions, he said the companies and institutes were destroyed. “The nation will not forget those who stalled the country’s journey towards progress and development,” the prime minister said while talking to a delegation of Albayrak Group, a renowned Turkish company, led by its President Ahmet Albayrak that called on him, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.

During the meeting, the prime minister appreciated the group’s services in solid waste management and public transport. PM’s adviser Ahad Cheema, PML-N senior leader Khawaja Hassan, Board members of Albayrak Group and other relevant authorities were present on the occasion.

The prime minister said that during their previous tenures, they had provided the residents of Lahore with international standard facilities. With global investment, they introduced the latest traveling, solid waste management facilities and created job opportunities, he added.

The delegation expressed its deep interest in investment in different sectors of Pakistan.

During his recent visit to Turkiye, the Group had apprised the prime minister of its keen interest to invest in different sectors of Pakistan and their upcoming visit. Meanwhile, Shehbaz Sharif reviewed the process of formulation of policy regarding alternative sources of energy especially, solar energy. During a meeting chaired by him, the prime minister said the government had ensured in the budget implementation of the measures about alternative sources of energy including solar energy. He said the process of converting public buildings on solar energy should be expedited. The solar energy will not only reduce the cost of production but will also save precious foreign exchange, he said adding that the policy on solar energy should be finalized as soon as possible.

The prime minister noted that Pakistan had immense capacity to produce solar energy. Federal ministers Khawaja Asif, Engineer Khurram Dastgir, Syed Naveed Qamar, Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Advisor to PM Ahad Cheema, Special Assistant Jehanzeb Khan, Chairman National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (PEPRA) and officials concerned attended the meeting. The meeting was briefed in detail about the progress on the countrywide solarization projects and on the policy of alternative sources of energy.