ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for building on the spirit of peace and harmony exemplified by Pakistan’s minority communities for continued growth and development as a nation.
He was addressing a ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad Tuesday to mark National Minorities Day.
The Prime Minister emphasized enhanced focus on modern education and skill development. He said collective efforts should be made, particularly in the health and education sectors and youth empowerment.
He said minority communities, including Christians, Hindus, Parsis, and Sikhs, have always lived very peacefully, making up a cohesive and harmonious society. He said all are playing an active role in the development of the country.
Applauding the minority communities’ services to Pakistan, the Prime Minister highlighted how they worked shoulder to shoulder with Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for the creation of Pakistan.
The Prime Minister paid glowing tribute to heroes like Jogendra Nath Mandal and Cecil Chaudhry. He made special mention of the minority communities’ role during wars for the defence of the motherland.
Meanwhile, \Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed relevant authorities to conduct a comprehensive third-party audit of customs bonded warehouses covering the last three years, warning that negligent officials and irregularities will face swift legal action.
The prime minister, chairing a review meeting on the matters of the Federal Board of Revenue, said that there was no room for any irregularity in customs bonded warehouses and directed that strict legal action be taken against any officials found involved in irregularities or illegal activities.
During the briefing on the matters regarding customs bonded warehouses and inland revenue enforcement, it was informed that cargo related to petroleum products in customs warehouses is linked with the Web-Based One Customs (We-BOC) system.
It was highlighted that bonded trade accounts for 16.5% of the country’s total imports and that as per the prime minister’s instructions, a countrywide physical stock verification of customs-bonded warehouses will be carried out.
The authorities concerned told the participants that comprehensive measures were being taken to ensure the proper licensing and security of customs-bonded warehouses. It was told that valuation testing will be conducted, and information technology systems will be reviewed, as all necessary steps were already being taken to eliminate irregularities in the system.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Azam Nazeer Tarar, Ahad Khan Cheema, Musadik Malik, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervaiz Malik, and Shaza Fatima, Advisor to PM Haroon Akhtar, Member of National Assembly Usman Awaisi, Governor State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmad, and relevant senior government officials.
