Shehbaz Sharif says each and every requirement of IMF has been met n Claims next financial year will be year of economic development n Imran Niazi openly spreading false information to mislead local and foreign media.

 

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE   -   Prime Minister Mu­hammad Shehbaz Shar­if Monday said that his government had been able to navigate the challenges faced by Pa­kistan in the best pos­sible fashion with the help of its people and brotherly and friendly countries.

In an interview with Anadolu News Agen­cy, the prime minister said that Pakistan had been facing a plethora of problems since April 2022, when the cur­rent government took over after former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted in a no-trust vote. “The issues are the result of the previ­ous government’s poli­cies,” he said.

“Pakistan, in April 2022, was on the verge of default because the government of the day had violated the IMF agree­ment and the economy was in tatters,” he maintained. “Then we had devastating floods in August 2022. Combined with that we are facing galloping in­flation, because of the interna­tional situation,” he added

To a question, PM Shehbaz said Pakistan was very hope­ful of finalising a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this month. “We are still very hopeful that the IMF pro­gramme will materialise. Our ninth review by the IMF will match all terms and conditions and, hopefully, we’ll have some good news this month,” he told Anadolu in Ankara. 

The prime minister was in Ankara for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inauguration ceremony.

“We have met all condition­alities. I repeat, each and ev­ery requirement of the IMF as prior actions has been met,” he asserted. “Some of those actions are usually met after the board’s approval, but this time the IMF required that those actions be met before the board’s approval, so we have met them,” he was quot­ed by the Turkish news agen­cy as saying.

The prime minister said the people of Pakistan had faced challenges in the past, and if needed, would tighten their belt and rise again.

‘IMRAN KHAN FACING CHARGES OF CORRUPTION, WHEELING-DEALING’

About May 9 vandalism, he said PTI chief Imran Khan faced charges of “serious corrup­tion, malpractice, and wheel­ing-dealing,” stressing that the “law had to deal with this.”

He (Imran Khan) for a peri­od of time, had been preparing his people mentally, his bunch of thugs as he would call them, to react violently, in case he (IK) was arrested, the prime minister added. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz said, “He (IK) planned this very serious act against the state of Pakistan. He incited his people. There’s evidence beyond any doubt.” Khan’s supporters were instructed to torch buildings, attack insti­tutions, and desecrate graves and monuments, he added.

“Those people who have at­tacked civilian installations will be tried under civilian law, and those people who attacked military installations and dese­crated institutions will be tried under the Military Act,” the prime minister further elabo­rated. 

About cases under the Mil­itary Act, the prime minister explained that ‘once the judge awards punishment, the defen­dant has two appeals – one in the high court and then in the Supreme Court of Pakistan’.

He said that the bottom line of the entire process was en­suring justice so that such thing could never took place in Paki­stan, for the rest of their lives. “Would any civilised country allow this kind of vandalism against the state, which hap­pened on May 9 in Pakistan?” he questioned. The prime min­ister cited an example of inci­dents that took place on Jan­uary 6, 2021 at Capitol Hill in Washington. 

Were not those perpetrators being tried and given severe punishments so that such an act could never happen again in the history of the United States! he maintained. The prime min­ister also congratulated the people of Turkiye on President Erdogan’s reelection, hailing it as a “wonderful development”.

“I will work very closely with my brother, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a visionary leader and a man of commit­ment who believes in public service. I hope our relations will enhance to a much higher level in terms of brotherhood, understanding, and economic cooperation,” he said.

He further said, “I always maintain, and I mean it, that our two brotherly countries are like one soul with hearts that beat together. We speak different languages, but we understand what we’re saying through our hearts. So, I think it’s a great opportunity.”

He expressed the confidence that both countries would boost cooperation in the near future to enhance trade and foster mutual growth by focus­ing on areas such as biogas, so­lar energy, and hydropower.

‘NO RIGHTS VIOLATIONS’

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also said on Monday that every case related to the violence committed by Paki­stan Tehreek-e-Insaf on May 9 was being dealt with due pro­cess under the law. 

“I assure everyone that the culprits are being dealt with under the law and that I will en­sure that no rights violations take place,” he wrote on Twitter. 

Sharif said Pakistan fully re­spected and was committed to all its constitutional and inter­national obligations on human rights. He said the PTI chief Imran Niazi in his interviews with international media out­lets was openly and deliber­ately disinforming local and foreign audiences by “glib-talk laced with fake news and plain misrepresentation”. 

“His expedient description of the post-May 9 events as ‘hu­man rights abuses’ and ‘sti­fling of the right to political protest’ is not only misleading but aimed at manipulating and swaying opinion-makers out­side the country,” he said. He categorically stated that what PTI did on May 9 was a “brazen attack on the State of Pakistan, with malafide intent and sinis­ter objectives”. “No country in the world would tolerate such an attempt at destroying its in­tegrity,” he said.

‘THE YEAR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR PAKISTAN’

Prime Minister Shehbaz Shar­if says public welfare, develop­ment and business friendly pol­icies will be the pivot of budget for next fiscal year. 

He was chairing a high-level meeting in Islamabad on Mon­day, to consult with the coali­tion parties for the Public Sec­tor Development Program. The prime minister said volume of Public Sector Development Program is being increased from 700 billion to 950 bil­lion rupees to accelerate the growth rate and employment opportunities in the next fi­nancial year. He said next fi­nancial year will be the year of economic development for Pakistan. He said the govern­ment is adopting the policy of utilizing the available resourc­es in the best way despite the difficult economic situation. Shehbaz Sharif said a signifi­cant amount is also being kept for the development and re­construction of the flood af­fected areas.

Shehbaz Sharif said consul­tation of coalition parties is highly significant in every ini­tiative. He noted with satisfac­tion how the ruling coalition saved the country from eco­nomic and political turmoil through mutual cooperation and beyond their political in­terests.

The meeting was told the Na­tional Flood Response Pro­gram, which has been delayed for years, is being re-launched. The meeting was also briefed in detail about the budget fig­ures and the proposed projects under the development budget.

On the occasion, leaders and representatives of the coali­tion parties termed Prime Min­ister’s initiative to take the al­lies into confidence and include their suggestions in the bud­get for the development bud­get of 2023-24 as historic and thanked him.

They gave their proposals for the development budget which the Prime Minister di­rected the Finance Minister to consider and include them in the budget.

Federal Ministers Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Maulana Asad Mahmood, Rana Tanveer Hus­sain, Maulana Abdul Wasay, Syed Aminul Haq, Agha Has­san Baloch, Sardar Israr Ta­reen, Advisor to Prime Min­ister Ahad Khan Cheema, Ministers of State, Hashim Notezai, Ehsanullah Riki, Members of National As­sembly and convener Mut­tahida Qaumi Movement Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, members of National Assem­bly Aslam Bhutani, Mohsin Dawar, Sardar Hussain Babak of Awami National Party and relevant senior officials par­ticipated. Federal Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Member National Assembly and Chair­man Balochistan National Party Sardar Akhtar Mengal attended the meeting through video link.