Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan is currently in this situation because the previous governments did not think beyond their five-year tenure, adding that Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar ‘did what they previous governments should have done’.
A conference on population control was held at the Supreme Court under the CJP today, where the prime minister addressed the gathering.
All four provincial chief ministers and Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider also attended the day-long symposium.
PM Imran began his speech on a lighter note, saying: “I am grateful that I have been called here, not at Court No.1.”
According to the prime minister, the CJP had taken steps which democratic governments should have done. “You asked why democratic government had not thought of water. They were not thinking beyond five years. We are facing these problems due to short term thinking.”
“The basis for the state of Medina was rule of law. In western countries rule of law was established from democracy.”
He said that Panama case verdict was very important and it laid the foundation of ‘Naya Pakistan’. “The influential came inside the noose due to the verdict.”
Speaking on the issue of population, the prime minister said he was an environmentalist form the start. “I remember when I was young there would be a temperature difference from one area of Lahore to another. There were green areas in the city. People would drink water from their tap, Ravi used to be a nice river and now it is a garbage dump. The city is all concrete now.”
The prime minister said he wanted to break the walls of the Governor House Punjab so people could see the gardens.
He added that children needed to be educated about family planning and the environment in school. “Pakistan is number seven on the list of nations which will be most affected by climate change.”
The rate at which population is growing and cities are spreading is having a devastating impact on our environment, said the prime minister.
He thanked the CJP for raising this issue and was grateful to see that all chief ministers were on-board.
“A dictator would try to become a democrat and an elected leader would try to become a dictator.”
“Only that society progresses which upholds supremacy of the law,” said the premier.
The prime minster termed establishing the rule of law by the chief justice as a good step. “No one can come into government and think they have absolute power anymore.”
“The Capital Development Authority informed the Supreme Court about my Bani Gala residence. This would not have been done before.”
According to the prime minister the fundamental reason the west was ahead of Pakistan was primarily due to the rule of law.
The institutions should work within their jurisdiction while remaining powerful, said Imran Khan.
The conference, organised by the Law and Justice Commission, was presided over by CJP Justice Mian Saqib Nisar with Prime Minister Imran Khan as the chief guest. All four provincial chief ministers attended the day-long symposium.
The CJP had taken suo moto notice of a human rights case in the matter regarding the alarming population growth rate in the country. The apex court had constituted a task force to formulate a mechanism to curb population growth in the country.
