PM says national and provincial governments are working in harmony for the country's development - Reuters File Photo 

 

ISLAMABAD: Development [of the country] should not be politicised as it is for the prosperity of every citizen, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Friday.  

Addressing participants of the National Economic Council, which is holding a meeting in Islamabad, he said that the federal and provincial governments are working in harmony for the country?s development and should continue on this path. 

"Pakistan is now among the fastest growing economies of the world," the prime minister stated.

Pakistan's economic indicators have significantly improved and this is acknowledged by international financial rating institutions, said the premier, adding that the GDP growth rate of 5.28% for the current financial year is commendable.

He said during the recent Belt and Road Forum in China, all the chief ministers accompanied him which showed the world that Pakistan unanimously stands for development.

Talking about power issues, he said the government is also focusing on a balanced mix of sources for energy including LNG, coal, hydel, solar and wind, he stated.

Describing infrastructure as key to development, Sharif said the government is concentrating on establishing roads and communication networks.

He also informed that the present government has increased the provincial share in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the next financial year three times more as compared to that in 2012-13. He said that FATA, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are as important to the federal government as all other provinces.

The meeting is expected to finalise the Annual Development Programme of 2017/18. The Annual Plan Coordination Committee has recommended to the NEC a development programme worth Rs2,113 billion for the next financial year.

The prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan are in attendance, besides the KP governor and the relevant federal and provincial ministers.