China has ‘reached the skies’ with determination and hard work: PM Imran Khan

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that China had “reached the skies” with determination and hardwork.

Addressing the launch ceremony of the Kamyab (successful) Pakistan Programme (KPP) here, PM Khan remarked that China had an equality based system which was behind its success as a nation.

PM Khan pointed out that in the neighbouring countries, the poverty was still prevalent but China had eliminated the menace of poverty.

“The reason China progressed was that it followed the model of equality. Islam also teaches the same path. We can move forward and eradicate poverty is we follow the teachings of Islam,” he maintained.

PM Khan regretted the lack of opportunities available for the middle and poor classes in the country, saying his government was making efforts to change the mindset and priorities in Pakistan.

Terming the KPP programme a “landmark” and “splendid idea”, the premier stated that his government had learnt from the housing finance programme introduced previously that banks did not have the infrastructure and training to give loans to people from the professional and lower classes of society.

“A lot of time was consumed in overcoming obstacles and even when we had passed the foreclosure law, our banks did not have the infrastructure and training to give loans to people. We realised that by the time banks learn to give loans to poorer people, our five years will be over,” he contended.

This was the reason, he added, that the government decided to make microfinance banks a part of the Kamyab Pakistan Programme.

The premier said Pakistan had made a “huge mistake” by not following the ideas of the country’s founding members to make Pakistan a welfare state.

“We made a huge mistake 74 years ago. We believed that we would make Pakistan a welfare state after there was prosperity and wealth in the country. I believe these were fundamentally wrong decisions,” he argued.

Prime Minister Imran Khan insisted that humanity and justice were the foundations of a society and no country could progress without having the two qualities.

The premier indicated that Pakistan had never implemented the welfare system the founding fathers had thought of and instead an ‘elitist’ system was formed.

He observed the country’s education system was a ‘huge misfortune’ that a small segment of the country was enrolled in English-medium schools so they got jobs while the rest of the public was not able to progress.

“A different standard of education for one class of society and a different one for another — education apartheid. And then there were madressahs (religious seminaries). This is one country, one nation, at least it should have a core syllabus. Our kind of elite was benefiting from it, our children were getting good jobs so we had no incentive to change it,” he underlined.

Under the Kamyab Pakistan Programme, Pakistani Rs1.4 trillion soft loans will be provided to 3.7 million families across the country. The programme will have five components.

Famers will get interest-free loans under the Kamyab Kissan programme, financing of up to Rs 500,000 will be made for setting up a business under the Kamyab Karobar programme, financing on easy installments will be extended for construction of houses under the Sasta Ghar (chpeak house) scheme, besides linking successful skilled-based scholarship scheme and Sehat Insaf (health justice) Card with the KPP.

The programme would also link low-income groups with banks through microfinance institutions.