Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday that beneficiaries of the system, including a few members of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) were resisting change, and advised the nation to be patient.

“Even in the FBR there are people who are resisting change for their personal interest,” the premier said at the inauguration of Naya Pakistan Housing Programme. He said those who were beneficiary of this corrupt system and had laundered billions of rupees abroad were making hue and cry about the government’s failure since the very first day of his government. “The interests of country and of those who have their assets abroad are always different,” he remarked.

The prime minister advised the nation to be patient and said that ups and downs were always part of a struggle. “No one should be worried about hard times. I have also seen ups and downs in my life. But now Allah Almighty has given me an opportunity to do something,” he added.

Sharing his vision of a state after 23 years of political struggle, the prime minister said he was never confused and had a clear vision about the state of Pakistan in line with the vision of founding fathers including Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbal.

“As a welfare state is responsible to look after the downtrodden, we have to ensure the uplift of downtrodden in Pakistan. I am very clear on it. If it was an easy task, it would have been done by other politicians during the last 70 years,” he remarked.

Imran said that his government holds the vision of making Pakistan a modern Islamic welfare state. He said his government wanted to build five million homes for the lower strata.

“As many as 40 percent of Karachi lives in informal settlements,” the premier said, and added that his government wanted to take the lower strata ahead. “Construction of five million houses is an ambitious target, but foreign investors are queued up (for this project). We are trying to bring private sector in the project so that youth could get opportunities for establishing their own businesses,” he said. The prime minister said he would soon inaugurate the construction of 100,000 housing units in Balochistan and 6,000 in Azad Kashmir, besides 14,000 in Lahore and Karachi in cooperation with the private sector.

He said initially his focus was on improving education, health and employment in the country. But, he added, he thought about the housing facility for low income and salaried people some two years back, after a government employee committed suicide in Islamabad just to seek job for his son and to retain the government’s house in which he lived.

The prime minister said that the government was also working to convert the slums in Karachi and Islamabad into high-rise apartments and provide all basic amenities there, including commercial areas.

He said a Chinese company, which had expertise in prefabricated housing, during a meeting with him showed interest in establishing a unit for manufacturing prefabricated housing material. That company had the capability of constructing a building floor in a week, he added.

He said the government had also allocated Rs 5 billion for a revolving fund to lend interest-free credit to the poor and homeless for the construction of their own houses.

The prime minister said that laying the foundation of 25,000 housing units in Islamabad after only eight months’ effort was a starter of five million housing programme.

Under the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme, 135,000 housing units will be built across the country in the first phase.

Special segments, including widows, orphans, transvestites, martyrs’ families and people living in terror-hit areas would be given priority under the house financing scheme. The registration process for Naya Pakistan Housing Programme began on October 22.

Finance Minister Asad Umar, Housing Minister Tariq Basheer Cheema, housing secretary and director general of Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) also spoke on the occasion and highlighted various features of Naya Pakistan Housing Programme.