LAHORE, Sept 2: The Pakistan Awami Tehrik made public its “future vision” — election manifesto, priorities for the development of the country and welfare of the people — at a local hotel here on Monday.
Briefing reporters, intellectuals and people from other walks of life, PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri presented a 10-year programme to restore national confidence and guarantee an independent and sovereign future of the country.
He stressed the need for a change in leadership for a new future which, he believed, was available only with the PAT.
PAT leaders Agha Murtaza Poya, Anwar Alvi and others were also present.
Mr Qadri said his party would raise budgetary allocation from the present two per cent to 15 per cent of the GDP, besides introducing a new education system and syllabus.
There would be a school at each kilometre as 400,000 new schools would be opened in the country, 10 women universities would be established and a National Education Force comprising 1.6 million teachers would be formed for an educational revolution, he added.
The PAT would form a consultative council of experts of various fields which would advise the parliament on different issues. The party believed that such a council was necessary for these experts could not make their way to the parliament through the electoral politics in vogue.
The income tax department would be disbanded and a new self-assessment tax system would be introduced. Dr Qadri said foreign exchange reserves would soar to Rs1,000 billion within three years as a result of this step.
The funds so raised would be utilized to repay foreign loans and initiate development projects like small dams, nuclear and solar power plants, he said.
Charity and Food Banks would be established for the elimination of poverty, he added.
He agreed to a questioner that politicians and army generals were equally responsible for the destruction of the homeland.
Replying to a question about administrative reforms, he said if need be an existing province might be divided to create more provinces to ease administrative control.
About the Kalabagh Dam, he said his party was not against its construction. But it could not be preferred over national integration.
Meanwhile, the PAT has hired the services of British experts free of cost for its election campaign. The party will in return help the Conservative Party of UK, whom the campaigners belonged to, in securing Muslim votes in British elections.