ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Tuesday that a high-powered delegation from China would soon visit Pakistan after his “successful” trip to Beijing. “A high-powered Chinese delegation will be visiting Pakistan soon,” PM Shehbaz said while briefing the federal cabinet members on his recently concluded five-day trip to China.
Shedding light on his trip, the premier revealed that the Chinese side, on multiple occasions, raised their concerns. However, he reassured that the government prioritised the security issue at every step whether it be discussions at government-to-government or government-to-business or other high-level forums. Terming the visit successful, he lauded the cabinet members for their efforts.
Separately, chairing a meeting, the prime minister directed for reduction in power outages in view of the rising temperatures during the summer season. He also directed for functioning of an effective and active system in the power distribution companies for the facilitation of consumers, regarding registration of timely complaints in case of no supply of power.
The prime minister advised that purchase of new transformers should be in line with the international standards, besides seeking benefits from the latest adopted present-day system at the global level for bringing reforms in the energy sector.
He asked the provincial governments to fully support the anti-power theft drive and ensure exemplary punishment to those involved in power theft. He also strictly directed to end overbilling in the country.
During the meeting, the prime minister was apprised that till May 30,134 cases had been registered and a total of 90 employees were arrested. Under the reforms in energy sector, a project related to metering of a total of 124,611 transformers was included in the upcoming development budget. Also on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian conducted a briefing on Tuesday in which he responded to the queries regarding “main achievements and highlights” of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s much-anticipated visit to Beijing from June 4 to 8. China is willing to firmly support Pakistan, “tighten the ties of cooperation, deepen strategic coordination and accelerate the construction of a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era,” said the spokesperson.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed the country’s overall economic situation with particular focus on extending relief to the people in the annual budget 2024-25. According to an announcement of the Aiwan-e-Sadr, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday and discussed the overall economic and financial situation in the country. Views were also exchanged on proposals on provision of relief to the people in the upcoming budget. Federal Minister for Planning and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal also attended the meeting.
The president assured the prime minister of his cooperation in country’s development and achieving economic targets. He also asked the government to take special care to protect the low income and middle class in the annual budget. Both the leaders also discussed development projects in the budget. The prime minister also apprised the president about his China visit.
