Imran vows a new Pakistan at a rally
islamabad — Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) chief and cricketerturned-politician Imran Khan has unveiled his party’s 11-point agenda to turn the country into a “Naya (new) Pakistan” at a rally in Lahore.
Addressing a large public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan, Imran announced the agenda for the upcoming general election which, according to him, will help establish “one system of justice, reduce poverty and elevate the living standards of the poor”.
“Today we are at crossroads,” Imran, a former cricketing hero, said. “It is time to change our destiny and think big,” he added.
Imran told a boisterous crowd of about 100,000 people that Pakistan was “heading towards destruction” but his plan would help forge a fairer society and steer Pakistan towards a path first envisaged by the nation’s father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
He said that if elected he would build schools and “world class hospitals” across the country, while farmers would get cheap loans. He also pledged to build 5 million homes for the poor, which would create jobs and stimulate the economy.
Imran lamented that today’s Pakistan was neither the vision of Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-eAzam) nor Allama Iqbal. The Quaid, he said, had dreamt of a country where all citizens, including all minorities, had equal rights.
Pakistan, Imran said, must choose between dishonour and dignity.
He said elimination of corruption, self-reliance, health and education were the top priorities of his party.
Discussing the education sector in Pakistan, Imran stressed that a country can never flourish without emphasising on education. “About 35 million children study in government schools. Half of Punjab’s budget is being spent on Lahore (alone). I ask Shahbaz Sharif who’s ruling Punjab for 10 years, how many international level universities did he establish?”
“Countries don’t flourish because of the roads and bridges, but when you spend on human development,” Imran lashed out at the present government, adding that the PTI will “invest maximum on the development of the people, on one education system in Pakistan”.
The PTI leader vowed to introduce a health insurance system modelled on the “Sehat Sahulat” card in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region for the poor across Pakistan. The PTI chief said his party would also work on generating revenues for the country to free Pakistan from heavy debts and promised the youth better employment opportunities by offering incentives in the tourism, housing and construction sectors.
Speaking about corruption, he cited his decision to expel 20 MPAs from his party for “selling votes” in the Senate elections earlier in 2018. “We feel they are weakening with every day,” Imran told foreign journalist ahead of the Lahore rally.
He added taht unlike in 2013, when PML-N swept to power, this time around many of the so-called “electables” — politicians who carry large rural vote banks due to their status as tribal elders, feudal lords and heads of various clans — will switch allegiances away from
Countries don’t flourish because of the roads and bridges, but when you spend on human development Imran Khan, PTI leader
Paksitan Muslim League-N to PTI. “The electables...weigh things up, they want to be on the winning side,” he told.
But at the Lahore rally, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader shunned talk of electables and focused on promising a new dawn for Pakistan’s poor.
“This system cannot run unless we stand up with the downtrodden,” he said. “I am standing with you, it is time of make new Pakistan.”—