Corrupt, Incompetent Officers Removed on Merit: PM

Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has said that we have dismissed corrupt and incompetent officers and sent home officers from Grade 20 to Grade 22 who received recommendations from across the country.

The Prime Minister, while addressing the students of the “Uran Pakistan” Summer Scholars Internship Program in Islamabad, said that such a change has not yet taken place in the country and recommendations are starting to come in. He said that he was ready for recommendations and telephone calls, but we made decisions on merit.

He said that we held continuous meetings with experts and bureaucracy to appoint the best officers in the FBR and chaired the meeting ourselves every week for reforms.

The Prime Minister said that Allah will ask him what he did in the world? So he will tell Allah that he worked on merit, fast-paced bureaucrats know how to work, faceless technology was introduced in the FBR, the process of digitalization was accelerated and Rs 500 billion was recovered through enforcement.

He further said that this is a journey with obstacles, but we will fulfill our responsibilities to the nation. I have never taken credit for myself, rather this is teamwork. We have to achieve our goals and if we fail to achieve our goals, we will have to bear the consequences.

The Prime Minister said that we brought the country out of the danger of default. In 2023, the majority believed that the country would go bankrupt, but I was confident that we would avoid default. An agreement was reached with the IMF, economic indicators improved, and by the grace of God, we came out of this phase.

He further said that the policy rate, which had reached 22 percent, has now been reduced to 11 percent. If the policy rate is further reduced than 11 percent, people will withdraw money from banks and invest.

Referring to the Pahalgam incident, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan had nothing to do with this incident, but India carried out aggression in which 55 civilians were martyred. We took action in self-defense and shot down 6 enemy aircraft and gave a befitting reply on May 10, which was a manifestation of the unity of the entire nation.