Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday said it’s surprising for him that the opposition feared a machine that the government wanted to introduce to make the next general elections transparent.
His remarks came during the launching ceremony of Lilla-Jhelum Dual Carriageway. “I was reflecting on the fact that we used technology and inaugurated this project with the touch of a hand, and that technology has come so far. I am surprised to see the opposition is resisting the use of technology, insisting on the traditional voting,” Imran said.
He said the whole world nowadays used technology for voting for making the elections better and more transparent.
“I am surprised the opposition have a problem with it; they are afraid of a machine or I don’t know of what,” he said. The premier said in today’s era, when information was simply a click away, a government’s performance was plain for all to see.
“People can find out very easily who did what, what conditions prevailed when the government came into power,” he said. He further said everyone could now see on their smartphones how Pakistan was deep into the country’s biggest deficit and how it paid back the greatest number of loans in the country’s history. Imran said the government’s aim was to first stabilise the country and then bring about long-term development.
“Countries advance when they think of future generations while planning,” he said. “They don’t think of the upcoming elections. They think of our youth, which form 60% of our population, and what is to be done for them,” he added. Citing China’s example, the prime minister said that the country’s secret to its success was that its leadership thought far ahead.
“First, they thought of how to bring their people out of poverty and then they ascertained which projects will take China forward.”
He said a country will “never progress” if leaders think they should spend money on a “metro bus project right before elections so I can win”.
“I am proud our government thought of future generations rather than the next elections,” he said. Imran said when one thinks of future, one thinks of Pakistan’s water needs.
“The way our population is growing, we have land, but are about to face water shortages,” the prime minister said. He also noted that the country’s food requirements have ballooned with the spurt in population growth.
“When Pakistan first came into being, this part, which was West Pakistan then, had a total population of less than 40 million and now it stands at 220 million.”
“So we need to grow crops for a burgeoning population. We have land for this, but we don’t have enough water,” the prime minister said. He said for the first time in 50 years, three big dams were being constructed. “And InshaAllah in the next 10 years, 10 dams will be made,” he added. The premier recalled how his government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was cajoled when it began planting trees in 2013.
He regretted how past governments did not realise that entire forests were razed and how tree cover sorely needed to be replenished for Pakistan to arrest an imminent climate change crisis.
