ISLAMABAD: Hours after returning home from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where he attended the 19th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday spent a busy day at his Banigala residence holding meetings to discuss the post-budget political situation in the country and finalise the strategy to counter the opposition’s narrative on the economy situation and the ongoing accountability process.

The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) also announced on Saturday that the party had decided to form a provincial level organisation for yet to be constituted south Punjab province.

The prime minister also presided over a meeting of the National Task Force for Health, which had been established to look into health-related issues and make a strategy to provide health facilities to masses.

The most important gathering of the day at Banigala was a meeting of the party spokespersons and other senior members to discuss the strategy to highlight the party’s narrative on the budget and to counter the opposition’s protest.

A PTI spokesman told Dawn that in the meeting, Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh gave a briefing to the participants on the salient features of the budget which needed to be highlighted through media. The adviser also briefed the participants about the steps which the Ministry of Finance planned to take for achieving the revenue targets.

Prominent among those who attended the meeting were Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Faisal Javed, Federal Minister for Comm­unications Murad Saeed and Punjab Information Minister Samsam Bokhari.

PTI to form provincial-level body on proposed south Punjab province

The spokesman said the prime minister also apprised the participants about the proposed high-powered commission to probe as to how successive governments of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) took Rs24 trillion loans during the last decade and brought the country on the verge of bankruptcy. He said the prime minister had stated in the meeting that the commission with its terms of reference would soon be constituted.

The commission, he said, would also investigate those rulers who had set up camp offices at their home town residences and spent huge taxpayers money on them.

Meanwhile, a source quoted the prime minister to have stated that the country’s economy had come to a takeoff position and the economic woes of the nation would soon be over.

The source said the prime minister also made some comments about Pakistan-India World Cup cricket match scheduled to be played in Manchester (UK) today (Sunday).

According to an official handout issued by the party’s Central Media Department, during a meeting between Mr Khan and the party’s chief organiser Saifullah Khan Nyazee, it has been decided to form a provincial level organisation for south Punjab.

Mr Nyazee later in a statement said the PTI was committed to protecting rights of the people of south Punjab, including their political and administrative rights. He stated that he had sought directives from the prime minister to establish provincial level organisation which would be constituted as per guidelines laid down by the chairman.

“This organisation will carry forward the agenda of people’s welfare,” he said, adding that the reorganisation process of the party across the country would also be concluded soon.

The PTI chief organiser apprised Mr Khan on the homework so far done for reorganisation of the party.

Mr Khan advised the chief organiser to bring forth loyal, devoted and skilled workers of the party and assign them duties.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2019