Shehbaz says from scrapping IMF deal, PTI chief has always wished Pakistan to default n Investors shy from investing capital due to wrong policies of Imran-led govt n Says our govt making all efforts to reduce dependence on imports and control inflation.

ISLAMABAD    -    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said Imran Niazi had a role in deepening economic challenges of Pakistan as he scrapped the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and his non-stop agita­tion, long marches and sit-ins caused economic and political instability.

In a tweet on the social media platform Twitter, he said, "Looks like Imran Niazi's understanding of the economy and the broader en­vironment in which it operates is quite limited. He also convenient­ly forgets his own role in deepening economic challenges. From scrap­ping the IMF deal, he has always wished Pakistan to default."

"This is in addition to the adverse impact his politics of non-stop agita­tion, long marches, and dharna has had on the economy in terms of caus­ing political instability. Even Pakistani investors would shy away from invest­ing their capital in such an unstable en­vironment deliberately created by Im­ran Niazi. The terrible events of May 9 alone have cost the economy billions of rupees & are an irrefutable endorse­ment of his nefarious designs. This is not to mention the plethora of corrup­tion cases he is involved in,” he noted.

He further said, “Yes, we do face the eco­nomic challenges but the doomsday sce­nario is past us. Sincere efforts are being made to address the challenges through economic belt-tightening and timely pol­icy interventions. We are also working with friends and partners to bridge the fi­nancing gaps where needed.”

“The real challenge for us is to reduce our dependence on imports and bring down inflation, which is possible when we make exports, investment and pro­ductivity the engine of the economy. This is where our efforts are headed,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Minister for Informa­tion and Broadcasting Marriyum Au­rangzeb on Monday debunked another narrative of PTI Chairman Imran Khan that the female workers of his party were being harassed in prisons, as to­tally baseless.

“A certified liar, who says “men are not robots” and advocates attacks on women and young girls because of wearing short clothes, is now cooking up a new lie to play the victim in the aftermath of public response to the May 9 tragedy,” the minister said in a long thread in Urdu language on her Twitter handle.

She was particularly referring to Im­ran Khan’s statement which he made in an interview with a foreign media outlet that “If a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on the men, unless they’re robots. I mean it is common sense”.

Marriyum alleged that TayybaGul, who reached out Imran Khan for justice in a case against the then National Account­ability Bureau (NAB) chairman, was ab­ducted and held hostage in the Prime Minister’s House. The evidence, she pro­vided, was then used to blackmail the NAB chairman so that the then opposi­tion leaders could be put in death cells.

All the limits were crossed during Imran Khan’s government to maltreat the women journalists, she said, add­ing the PTI chairman did not even stop there and alleged that the female me­dia persons deliberately sneaked into male-concentrated gatherings.

“This malicious ploy to mislead over­seas Pakistanis and the world is bound to fail like Cypher and other dramas,” the minister said while asking Imran Khan to present evidence of his new propa­ganda of female workers harassment.

“Either present evidence or keep your mouth shut,” she advised the PTI chief. “This is a very serious allegation which we cannot tolerate in any case. Your era of blackmailing and apathy is no more.”

Branding Imran Khan as a “media predator”, she said it was only the PTI leader who could dare to make such horrendous accusations without any evidence. However, he got exposed ev­ery other day with his lies, fabricated videos and pictures, she added.