Karachi, May 28, 2022 (PPI-OT):Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor has said that job creation is the sure way to stabilize economy of the country and the government must give this crucial task a very serious focus. He said Pakistan is a fortunate country with a huge youth population but at the same time it is also unfortunate that a vast majority of our youth are jobless.
He said if the government manages to introduce policies aimed at creating employment including self employment opportunities for these young people our economy would surely stand on its own two feet. He said Pakistan has a huge potential to absorb its immense available manpower in both industry and agriculture, and all it needs is to correct the direction of our policymakers.
Shakoor said Pakistan being an agricultural country is today forced to import wheat, cotton, cooking oil, tea and other edibles. He said despite having a long coastal belt we have failed to grow palm oil trees on commercial basis and besides having proper climate in hilly areas we have failed to establish tea gardens.
He said if we only make the country self-sufficient in cooking oil and tea, billions of rupees of the national exchequer could be saved. He said we are wasting precious water in flood irrigation methods that could be saved if we adopt drip irrigation methods. He said the country is going to water deficiency but the government is still sitting idle. He said is time to introduce a water emergency to stop turning the country into a desert land in near future.
The PDP chairman said all available resources should be allocated to erect water reservoirs. He said this is also necessary to cope with stoppage of river water flows to Pakistan by India which he termed water terrorism. He said our industrial sector is left orphaned by successive governments. He said we are still importing products that could be easily made locally.
He said automobiles, agricultural equipment, construction machinery, cell phones, computers and solar energy gadgets could be easily made locally and their import should be banned or heavily taxes to encourage local production. He said we should be a nation of manufacturers instead of being the nation of vendors of foreign made goods. He said right and prudent policies at governmental level are required in this regard.
Shakoor said that the megacity Karachi is the mother of job creation for Pakistan, but the port city goes badly neglected at both provincial and federal government level. He said the civic infrastructure of the megacity is in the shambles and its citizens are deprived of modern urban facilities which are creating frustration.
He said public transport sector of Karachi is the worst in whole world. He said no any other megacity of the world still goes with such a poor public transport system. He said Karachiites still depend on motorcycle rickshaws and old junk-class minibuses. He said the federal government gave the megacity Green Line RBT but its critical second phase from Mazar-e-Quaid to Meriwether Tower is still in limbo.
He asked why this crucial phase of this lifeline rapid bus transit (RBT) is being delayed; what are the reasons of snail paced work on this project. He said Karachiites smell a rate and the government need to launch a probe in this matter. He said better commuting system is directly related to increased economic activities and thus better job creation.
He said the RBT systems announced by the government of Sindh are still to see the daylight. Altaf Shakoor said for creating job opportunities in also needs to give a very serious attention to technical education and vocational training. He said it is a lingering demand of his party that every district of Pakistan must have a technical university to educate and train our youth of vocations with a high demand in job market.
He said our academic and industrial sectors are not going in tandem; this is why our universities and colleges are teaching old and outdated syllabus that he no practical value in active job market. He said our Higher Education Commission and federal and provincial educational departments are divorced to reality and living in fool’s paradise. They must wake up from their deep slumber and introduce market-based degrees and courses with a sole focus to job creation.
He said the government should make two industrial corridors along Karachi-Hyderabad and Karachi-Keti Bunder highways on priority basis to pave a way for industrial revolution. He said our fish harbours are in a pathetic shape that provides jobs and earnings to our fishing community and fish industry labour. He asked why Korangi Fish Harbour is not functioning for decades. He said boosting our fisheries sector would also create hundreds of thousands new jobs.
He said similarly Pakistan Steel Mills and Machine Tool Factory were also closed down under a well-planned conspiracy to rob Karachi youths from jobs. He said these huge industrial complexes should be revived on emergency basis. Altaf Shakoor said the country is once again going to IMF for getting the noose of debt trap further tightened around its neck.
He said foreign loans are a deadly trap that makes independent nations Sri Lankas. He said our economic salvation is not in foreign loans but in job creation. He said now when three major political parties of the country and ‘institutions’ are on one page there should be no reason why the nation is not put on the way to progress and prosperity that solely hinges on job creation and job supply strategies.
For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Pasban Democratic Party (PDP)
Pasban Central Secretariat
Office # 9, Five Star Center,
Block 11, University Road, Opp. Ibne Sina Hospital,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-34024480-81
Cell: +92-322-2212434
Email: pasban.ppick@gmail.com
Website: www.pasban.org