SWABI: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar on Friday said the government would reconstitute the Pakistan Tobacco Board through legislation.

Addressing a convention of farmers here on Friday, the NA speaker said the current Pakistan Tobacco Board had failed to serve the interests of tobacco growers, so the government would legislate to reconstitute it for the growers’ development.

“We will effectively resolve the tobacco growers’ problems on a priority basis,” he said.

NA speaker says govt doesn’t have Aladdin’s magic lamp to resolve issues in few months

Mr Qaisar said the country’s economic problems would be over soon.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan was unlike his predecessors, who looted the country, shifted the money abroad, weakened national economy, and harmed the country’s position in comity of nations.

The NA speaker said the government was trying to further strengthen economic and trade relations with European countries, Central Asian Republics, and Russia to increase exports, which would help national economy.

He wondered where the money barrowed by the successive governments from international financial institutions had gone.

Mr Qaisar said the opposition parties criticised the economic policies of the PTI ignoring their own governments’ failure to deliver the goods to the people’s misery.

“We don’t have Aladdin’s magic lamp to resolve issues within eight months,” he said.

The NA speaker said the premier’s forthcoming visit to the US, which was happening at the desire of American President Donald Trump, would help strengthen ties between Islamabad and Washington and bring peace and prosperity to South Asian region.

He said for the first time, the federal government had spent Rs3 billion on the development of irrigation system in Swabi district, while much more would be spent on different projects in the district in future.

SENTENCED: Additional district and sessions judge Ijaz Awan on Friday awarded 50 years imprisonment and Rs0.5 million fine to a resident for killing two people.

Convict Abdul Nasir had killed Zaid Ali and Ayaz Khan in his native town, Kalu Khan, in Nov 2011.

Meanwhile, additional sessions judge of Chota Lahor tehsil cancelled the pre-arrest bail of Obaid Khan, Haris Khan and Muzaffar Khan in a goat theft case.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2019