PM stresses need to stop electricity theft, promote solar energy

ISLAMABAD: Members of the National and provincial assemblies from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Thursday called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at the PM House.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Ameer Muqam, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi and other high-ranking officials.

The prime minister assured the lawmakers that the development of KP, particularly the merged districts, was the top priority of the government. The prime minister said the government would establish Danish Schools in the area to provide international standard quality education to local students.

The prime minister also emphasized the need to stop electricity theft, promote solar energy and provide relief to the poor and middle class. He said the government was converting agricultural tubewells to solar energy across the country that would help in development of agriculture sector, increase the cultivation land and save billions of dollars in term of imported fuel.

He announced the formation of a committee, chaired by the Deputy PM, to find sustainable solutions to the problems faced by the elected representatives of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed the relevant authorities to prepare a comprehensive strategy with respect to provision of employment opportunities to the youth of the country on equal basis. Calling the youth as assets of Pakistan, the prime minister said the country’s development was linked with their welfare and progress.

Chairing a meeting regarding Prime Minister’s Youth Programme at the PM House, he said, with their immense talent, the youth could change the fate of the country if they were provided with the required resources. He said all the training programmes at National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NVTTC) should be focused on creating job opportunities for students. He directed to conduct a detailed survey of job market and then accordingly start the skill training programmes.

Meanwhile, the prime minister on Thursday reaffirmed his commitment that Pakistan would continue to lend its full support to Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in enhancing intra-regional trade among ECO countries as well as on the ECO reforms agenda. He was talking to Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Khusrav Noziri who called on him at the PM House.

The outgoing Secretary General apprised the prime minister about ECO’s initiatives and activities as well as his reform agenda to revitalize ECO during his tenure.