PM Shehbaz urges civil servants to work hard to steer Pakistan out of challenges

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday urged the civil servants to work hard to steer the country out of challenges, Radio Pakistan reported.

Addressing the passing out ceremony of probationary officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), the prime minister reminded them that after assuming their basic responsibilities in practical life, they would be confronted with issues like unemployment, poverty, disease, lack of education, and delayed response to public problems.

Appreciating the civil bureaucracy, the prime minister said that he personally knew a number of good officers who had strived to serve the country by shedding their sweat and blood.

In a veiled reference to the previous government, the prime minister said baseless allegations were leveled against certain officers which caused embarrassment for their families.

He appreciated the active service to humanity, rendered by new civil servants in the flood-hit areas, during their training period.

The prime minister stressed that it should be a collective agenda of them all and the political hierarchy to provide an enabling environment for the civil bureaucracy to serve the masses with dedication.

“If an amicable environment was provided to the civil servants, they could excel to their full potential,” he added.

He said that he visited several flood-hit areas including Balochistan, and civil servants did their best to help humanity.

Terming them as “future of Pakistan,” the prime minister expressed the optimism that they would perform with dedication and honesty as the nation had attached expectations to them.

“Let’s move to transform Pakistan into Quaid’s and strive to turn it stronger. The people will remember you for your yeoman’s service,” he said.

The ceremony was attended by Governor Punjab Balighur Rehman, a retired judge, officers, and a number of families.

The prime minister elaborating his viewpoint on the economic challenges faced by the country also regretted that during the past 75 years, different governments whether headed by the political leadership or military dictators could not address the economic issues.

In the past, time was wasted with the creation of chaos and protests, he added.

The prime minister said that sustainable development goals (SDGs) could be achieved if their bus could have moved at a fast pace and on the right track and they could not have sought foreign loans.

The prime minister said during his recent visit to the United Arab Emirates, the UAE president had very graciously and affectionally announced to grant of a further $1 billion loan to Pakistan.

He apprised him that Pakistan was passing through economic issues and meeting the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conditionalities.

The prime minister said that it really embarrassed him to ask for further loans and also lauded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the financial support.

He opined that it was not the right solution to their economic challenges as the loans would be returned back.

Earlier, Director General Civil Services Academy, Lahore Omer Rasul highlighted the role and contributions of the academy in training future bureaucrats to serve the country and masses with their capabilities and dedication.

The prime minister also gave away certificates to the outstanding officers.