PESHAWAR: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin on Monday was elected as senator on a vacant seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Polling for the by-election on the general seat started at 9 am and continued till 4 pm. A total of 124 votes were polled in the election of which Tarin received 87 votes. He defeated ANP candidate Shaukat Amirzada, PPP candidate Muhammad Saeed and JUI-F candidate Zahir Shah.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had sacrificed Ayub Afridi to elect Tarin as senator. He was later appointed as adviser to PM on overseas Pakistanis.
After his victory, Tarin promised that KP’s arrears in terms of net profit of electricity will be paid soon. He promised to visit the province every month to resolve its economic and financial problems issues.
He said that interest free loans will be provided to KP’s youth under the Kamyab Pakistan Programme. “Rs1 trillion have been allocated for the programme,” the PM’s aide said, adding that inflation had increased not only in Pakistan but all over the world whereas the government’s goal is to increase people’s income for which it is taking steps.
He further added that Rs1.4 has been allocated under the programme for introducing programmes for backward areas under which 4 million people will be provided loans for business and housing. “This program will be for four years, only for the backward areas.”
“Our goal is to increase people’s income which will decrease the impacts of high inflation,” Tarin said.
Likewise, he said that the government is bringing a ration programme which will provide food items to 20 million families and 130 million people at a low cost.
Stating that gas reserves are declining by 10% every year, Tarin said the government is trying to find more gas reserves in other parts of the country, including Lakki Marwat.
About electric power he said that at present, there is no shortage of electricity in the country. “The government will bear the losses incurred because of electricity stealing as we trying to provide electricity to every part of the country,” he added.
Shaukar Tarin said that PTI was not defeated in the local government due to inflation as inflation is a global phenomenon and not limited to Pakistan.
The newly elected Senator, while recalling his term as the minister of finance said, “I had played an important role in concluding the Hydel Profit Agreement. The net profit of electricity arrears will be paid to KP as per the agreement.”
He said that he will try to alleviate the economic and financial problems of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
