Proud that PTI govt prioritises future generations over coming elections, says PM Imran

Prime Minister Imran Khan took pride on Tuesday in what he described as his government’s foresight to focus on long-term development, prioritising the future of coming generations over success in elections. “Nations progress when they think about their future generations, not the coming elections,” he said while addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the 128-kilometre-long Lillah-Jhelum Road in Islamabad. Giving the example of China, which he said had progressed immensely over a period of 30 years, the premier explained that the neighbouring country saw prosperity because its leadership focused on long-term planning. “Unless you think this way, you cannot progress ... A nation doesn’t progress if you only focus on the execution of Metro [bus project] so as to win the election,” he stressed. “I am proud that our government thought about our coming generations instead of the coming elections.” Congratulating his team, the prime minister said the economic situation was the worst when his party formed the government.

“Yet, we tried to carry out long-term development” after the situation somewhat stabilised, he added.As part of this long-term planning, he said, the construction of three big dams was currently underway.

The premier said the projects were being executed because the government realised that the demand for water would increase in the country in the coming years.

“The population is increasing and so is the demand for food. We have to produce crops to cater to this growing demand, and for that we will need [agricultural] land, which we have, and more water, of which there is a shortage,” he explained. Hence, for the first time in 50 years, three big dams were being constructed, he said, adding that another 10 would be built over the next 10 years. The prime minister regretted that while the planning for these projects had been completed around 40 years ago, no progress had been made on their execution till now.