Announcing that giving up was not an option, Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar vowed to continue the fight against terrorism “no matter what” on Wednesday.
“Pakistan will not give in to extremism, radicalism, or intolerance… We will govern the nation on our terms because this is our home, he insisted.
The statement from the interim premier comes a day after six soldiers chose martyrdom in a gunfight with terrorists near Asman Manza in the South Waziristan district.
In a press release issued yesterday, the military’s media wing claimed that the troops had engaged the terrorists successfully, killing four of them while injuring two more.
At a press conference today in Karachi, Prime Minister Kakar declared: “Those who think that such attacks will wear us out should know that we will never forget our martyrs or their sacrifices and won’t forego making similar ones in the future.
In fact, we’ll go after them.
He drew attention to the fact that Pakistan was funding its law enforcement agencies with tax revenue. The premier stated, “We are not fighting on donations.
PM Kakar emphasised that the entire country honours and respects all law enforcement personnel, regardless of whether they are defending against external aggression or carrying out their duties for internal security.
“Respect is how we compensate them for their work. Although we are providing for their needs with money, the nation is compensating them with respect and honour.
“The dogs of hell, suicide bombers, etc.” Do they believe that my soldiers, who are stationed in Waziristan, Balochistan, or any other region of the nation, are unaware of the plans God has for them? he questioned.
Further asserting that Pakistan had a firm message for those instigating violence, PM Kakar said, “We will keep fighting against the misguided.”
The rescue operation in Battagram a day ago, which saved the lives of all eight people trapped in a cable car, was made possible thanks to the combined efforts of the army, the civil administration, and the locals.
PM requests that the business community “share”
PM Kakar advised the business community to avoid tax evasion for the good of the country as a whole while urging them to “share their blessings” and “listen to each other” in a meeting with businessmen earlier today in Karachi.
“We will bring optimism and positive change,” he declared. How? I promise that we will accomplish it together.
“We should begin by talking to each other. The state and the government should be listened to, and we will listen to you (traders), the speaker continued.
The blessings one receives are not for an individual, but for holding shares; it is up to you whether you choose to do so in your family, home, neighbourhood, province, nation, or subcontinent, the prime minister said.
He went on to say that tax evasion happens when money is “dispensed improperly” and when “people rationalise that their money is not for flamboyant use by others.” According to the prime minister, this “generated a vicious cycle in the nation.”
The premier explained the economic policy of the government by saying, “We intend to tax people and use those taxes to support the disadvantaged. This is the goal. We are to blame if we don’t achieve our goals.
Kakar acknowledged that the nation’s “system incentivizes corruption,” noting that some in the business community might believe the government is moving towards “unnecessary extortion” and that services are not being provided as they ought to be.
He emphasised the need for a “consistent and secure supply of cheap energy” for industrialization when speaking about the difficulties the nation faces. Otherwise, the country would “not see anything other than a horizontal expansion of residential services” and housing initiatives, he emphasised.
Kaker continued by lamenting the lack of start-up businesses in the nation and asserting that the domestic energy resources were insufficient to support heavy industrialization and transform the economy.
He said it was the country’s “collective inefficiency” that had led to its people living in misery, noting that those living in the Indus Basin were having problems with their access to food.
In addition, the prime minister questioned whether business leaders could be proud of their standing in the global supply market, pointing out that there were problems with credibility and that “larger good was eliminated for smaller profits.”
He urged the people to “discover a Pakistani dream and branding” though he expressed optimism in addressing the nation’s structural problems.
PM Kakar noted that people bemoaned the ongoing “brain drain” and made reference to a similar incident that occurred in the 1960s, when those who had left India returned after 30–40 years as “brain assets”. He continued by praising Pakistanis living abroad for their assistance in “rescuing” the regional economy.
Karachi, Karachiites, and the business community, according to PM Kakar, are the pride of Pakistan. […] Pakistan’s society and state would disintegrate if this community, its contributions, and its activities were separated from the nation.
He promised that the government would make an effort to address the concerns of the business community, specifically mentioning issues with electricity and gas.
In slogans, there are no solutions.
“Please keep in mind our mandate, which is limited to only providing assistance during the election, while monitoring day-to-day governance issues and maintaining national and international agreements,” Prime Minister Kakar said in an earlier speech.
Until the new Parliament is elected and the nation moves towards a “smooth transition,” he continued, the government intended to fulfil its “limited responsibilities” and work to prevent any discontinuities.
The prime minister noted that merely “raising slogans” would not provide solutions to the nation’s problems; rather, these could only be discovered through “careful deliberation in a serious manner.”
We will have to admit that sometimes our mistakes are our own, and other times your mistakes are our mistakes.
He added that the government would create a system based on what it could accomplish in a “limited time” and would also think about whether it could “leave a blueprint for the next government.”
