RAWALPINDI: Federal Minister for Petroleum, Ghulam Sarwar Khan Saturday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was adopting prudent policies to put the country’s economy on track.
Addressing at Public Secretariat NA 59, he said the present government had been working on its reforms agenda with main focus on improving the country’s economic condition.
The government was well aware of the problems being faced by the poor and middle class people and it was taking several innovative steps to improve their lives, he added.
The Minister said the present government was facing several challenges due to the poor economic policies of past regimes, which it, however, would overcome.
He categorically stated that no one would be given an (National Reconciliation Ordinance) NRO as reiterated by Prime Minister Imran Khan because it was the government’s responsibility to bring all those involved in corruption to justice.
Sarwar said accountability would be held across the board against all corrupt elements to eliminate the menace of corruption. Imran Khan was striving to root out corruption, poverty and unemployment from the country and trying to introduce reforms in different sectors to improve the living standards of the people, he added.
He said (PTI) government had taken ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ initiative as per vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to tackle the issues of pollution and climate change.
He informed that there was a target to plant 1,00,000 saplings while 35,000 saplings has been achieved to make environment pollution free.
He urged that all the stakeholders should highlight importance of greenery and clean and green environment which was necessary for human survival.
On a query, the minister said that Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority had forwarded the summary an increase of Rs11.91 in petrol prices, but the government has approved the summary for an increase in petrol prices and Petrol now available at cost Rs98.89 after an increase of Rs6.
The prices of petroleum comparatively less from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and other countries, he maintained.
The minister expressed confidence that the year-2019 would prove beneficial for the nation as a good news was expected due to the exploration activity, being carried out by Pakistan Exploration and Production (E&P) companies along with international partners around the clock.
The offshore drilling is a joint venture of ENI, Exxon Mobil, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited and Pakistan Petroleum Limited, which is being carried out at estimated exploration cost of $ 75 million.
“The Exxon Mobil has given the target depth of 5500 feet while the minister said that 4400 feet work has been competed however, the drilling work is in progress, he added.
The Minister also planted a sapling along with the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Chairman Asif Mehmood, MPA Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi, Malik Imran and others.
APP