Pakistanism is our foremost priority, says Imran

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government would fully support every effort to highlight the true image of the country and promote real culture.

“Our foremost priority is to highlight Pakistanism, protecting and promote the culture and values of Pakistani society,” the prime minister said while presiding over a meeting on the revival of Pakistani film industry and cinema.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, SAPM Syed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari, Information Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani, Faraz Chaudhry, Peer Saad Ahsanuddin and Zaurez Lashari attended the meeting.

The participants presented various suggestions to the prime minister regarding the promotion of film industry and cinema in the country.

Lashari said another meeting would be held in Lahore with the culture secretary, film producers, directors and cinema owners to recommend measures to resolve issues being faced by the industry.

Meanwhile, the federal government has assured four provinces of its all-out support to combat swarms of locusts currently attacking and badly hit the agriculture sector by ruining ripped crops, especially in Sindh and Punjab.

The assurance was given by the prime minister to the chief ministers who were attending a separate high-level meeting through video link. The session reviewed steps taken to exterminate the pest. The meeting was attended by Minister for National Food Security Khusro Bakhtyar, Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan and other senior officials. All the four chief ministers gave their input through the video link.

Meanwhile, Imran has ordered the investigative report regarding the artificial shortage of wheat flour and sugar in the country be made public as soon as possible.

The prime minister made the remarks while chairing a meeting reviewing the current wheat situation in the country. The premier, during the meeting, directed that strict accountability of all those trying to enforce an artificial shortage of wheat and sugar in the country.

According to officials, the premier also tasked his close confidants with revealing the names of those found involved in creating the crisis and vowed to punish them.

Imran said there would be no respite for the guilty, as the government bore great humiliation and criticism because of the action of a few. He added the government’s policy was based on transparency and no one would be allowed to sabotage it.