Pakistan to save $300m annually from LNG deal: PM

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday revealed that Pakistan had signed a deal related to the supply of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) which would help save the nation $300mn annually. Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Central Business District ceremony in Lahore, the prime minister said that his government had been trying to negotiate this deal for the past one year.

"When a difficult time comes upon the nation, a country has to think of 'out-of-thebox' solutions," he said. "Pakistan went through a decade of darkness," he added. The prime minister had said Pakistan was facing a fiscal deficit due to which it was forced to take foreign loans due to which the country's reserves declined and its currency lost its worth.

"These problems were inherited by this government," he said, adding that the government cannot solve this problem until and unless it generates wealth. Touching upon the LNG deal with Qatar, the prime minister said that he was proud to announce that Pakistan will save $300mn each year as a result of the deal.

"And in 10 years' time, Pakistan will save $3bn," he said. The prime minister hailed the Business District Project in Lahore, saying that these will generate wealth in the billions for Pakistan. He said that it was time to stop Lahore from expanding horizontally, recalling that when he was a child, the city ended at Zaman Park.

"The first phase [of the Central Business District] project, the federal government will earn Rs250bn from taxes," he said. The prime minister said when the Walton airport is de-notified as per the project's plan, tall buildings can be constructed in Gulberg and Ferozepur road.

"These areas can then become the economic hub for Lahore," said the prime minister, lamenting that Lahore's horizontal expansion had caused a mirage of problems of the city. "The entire city's sewerage is going in River Ravi," he said. "This sewerage is going down the river. A lot of people drink water from the rivers," he said, adding that even the water table of Lahore was declining. PM Imran Khan said that as per estimates, Pakistan can generate Rs6,000bn in revenue from these commercial projects.

The prime minister seemed a bit annoyed when no one clapped at the announcement. "I think all of you sitting in the front have had a late night, because you seem to be asleep. No one clapped at the announcement that Rs6,000bn will be generated," he said. "Aleem Khan, you should know about these things because you are in business." PM Imran Khan dispelled the impression that the project will be harmful for the environment. "I consider myself the biggest environmentalist of Pakistan," he said. "[Before] no one even thought of planting trees in the history of Pakistan. It was us [KP government] which thought of planting trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa."

The prime minister said that not a single tree would be cut to make way for the project. "And even if a tree is brought down, we have equipment to relocate it to another place," he added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday welcomed the Sri Lankan government's decision to allow the burial of Covid-19 victims, days after the premier's visit to Colombo.

On February 10, Prime Minister Imran had lauded his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa's announcement that burials would be allowed. A day later, however, Rajapaksa backtracked and said there would be no change in the cremation-only policy. The ban had sparked protests by Muslims who bury their dead in accordance with Islamic customs. The Muslim community in Sri Lanka had held a protest prior to Prime Minister Imran's visit, where they carried a mock janazah or coffin.

"Respect Prime Minister's statement and allow burials," one banner at the protest read. On February 25, a day after Prime Minister Imran concluded his two-day official visit to Colombo, the Sri Lankan government issued a notification saying that the order has been amended to allow both burial and cremation of people who died due to Covid. "I thank the Sri Lankan leadership & welcome the Sri Lankan govt's official notification allowing the burial option for those dying of Covid 19," PM Imran said in a tweet posted today. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi too said that Pakistan was "grateful" to the leadership of Sri Lanka for allowing the burial of Covid-19 victims. "Indeed it is these very principles of mutual understanding, respect and humanity that bring relationships to thrive and prosper," he tweeted.

Prime minister's aide Zulfi Bukhari shared pictures of a copy of the gazette notification issued by the Sri Lankan government and said: "Appreciate Sri Lankan govt's official gazette notification allowing burial of #COVID19 deceased in #SriLanka within few hours of PM @ImranKhanPTI's visit. It is every Muslim's final right to be buried as was requested by #PMIK." The Sri Lankan government had imposed a ban on burials in April amid concerns - which experts say are baseless - by influential Buddhist monks that burying bodies could contaminate groundwater and spread the virus.

The World Health Organisation has said there is no such risk, recommending both burial and cremation of virus victims. Traditionally, Muslims bury their dead facing Makkah. Sri Lanka's majority Buddhists, who are strong backers of the current government, are typically cremated, as are Hindus.

In December, the Sri Lankan authorities ordered the forced cremation of at least 19 Muslim Covid-19 victims, including a baby, after their families refused to claim their bodies from a hospital morgue.