Islamabad, August 19: A day after resuming charge as the prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan in his first public address on Sunday stressed on the need of improving ties with all the neighbouring countries. Khan also pledged that his government would cut spending and launch stern measures for the welfare of the people. In his first public address, the Pakistani prime minister thanked his supporters and workers for standing by him during his political struggle.

During his address, Khan lashed out at the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government for current debt crisis which has risen to Rs 28 trillion. He said that the country had not been as indebted in its entire history as it had been in the last ten years. The Pakistani prime minister identified Pakistan's economic challenges and outlined the deficiencies in the health-care sector. He said he said that at present Pakistan is among the five such countries where infant mortality is highest due to use of contaminated water.

Khan said that on the one hand we are so indebted, and on the other hand our human development index ranking is abysmal. He said, “We have the highest rates of mortality for pregnant women. We are unfortunately one of the countries that suffer from the highest incidences of stunting in children. We are talking about 45 per cent of this nation's children.” The Pakistani prime minister also urged its citizens to support him in eradicating poverty, improving health-care system and providing proper nutrition to children.

(With inputs from PTI)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2018 12:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).