ISLAMABAD/Lahore - Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Friday said Imran Khan still does not believe that he is the premier.
Speaking at a news conference here along with Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah and Marriyum Aurangzeb, Abassi said the rupee had depreciated to the lowest point in history.
The former PM said the US dollar hit an all-time high of Rs142 in the interbank market which spoke volumes about the economic condition of the country.
Abbasi claimed that during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government’s tenure, the fiscal policies were widely appreciated. “Prime Minister Imran Khan still cannot believe he is in power even after passing of 100 days,” he added.
The PML-N leader maintained that the value of rupee depreciated after Prime Minister Khan’s address at a ceremony marking the 100 days of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government. He said Imran Khan was silent about the tax evaders as they were weakening the system.
On the money laundering allegations against the PML-N leadership, he said the government had so far failed to provide proof. “The government should adopt the fiscal reforms introduced by Miftah Ismail to stop money laundering and theft,” said Abbasi. The former premier said that the way inflation had increased recently was not witnessed earlier, adding: “Due to the dollar rate hike, the loans on Pakistan have increased by Rs600 billion.
Former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal said that Prime Minister Khan had claimed to eliminate corruption within 90 days. “Despite passing of 100 days, the premier hasn’t learnt the rules of business,” he added.
After the record raise in the price of the dollar yesterday, the PML-N has asked the PTI government to resign as governing the country has become impossible for the govt.
PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurengzeb said that the exorbitant hike in the dollar rate has exposed the PTI government which shows that the govt has yielded to the demands of the IMF for the sake of obtaining loans. She further said that the PTI govt is being run on petty matters like eggs and chicks, hence, cannot stay in power for a longer time.
She said that Imran Khan told lies to the nation throughout and the time has come that his government should resign and leave.
Marriyum said that the PTI had made commitment with the IMF to accept its demands but the nation is being kept in the dark on the matter.
She demanded of the Prime Minister Imran Khan to come clean before the people as to which conditions of the IMF have been accepted to get loans from this agency. She also criticised the Finance Minister Asad Umar alleging that he told lies to the people while speaking at the 100-day performance of the PTI government.
She said that the PTI government came to power through ‘fake mandate’ and this fact stands exposed to the masses overnight when the dollar touched the peak which means, a storm of price-hike in the items of daily use and financial miseries of the poor being added up. She said just after 100 days, the PTI has proved its inability and inefficiency to run the government, therefore, it must quit the govt.