Imran can't conceal his inefficiency, corruption by 'covering face with canister': Marriyum
Marriyum said the government had been making all-out efforts to pass on relief to the masses.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangeb on Wednesday said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan could not conceal his incompetence, inefficiency and corruption by “covering his face in public with a canister”.
“It may be a bucket or a canister or a ‘dustbin’, but rest assured nothing can help Imran Khan cover up his four years misrule which was marred by corruption, loot and plunder,” the minister said while addressing a news conference.
Flanked by Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Economy and Energy Bilal Azhar Kayani, she said Imran Khan would have been visiting the public without any fear, had he not wreaked havoc with the economy.
“Imran Khan could cover his face with a bucket, a canister or a dustbin before going to the public, but nothing can help him cover his evil deeds and corruption,” the minister remarked.
Marriyum said a group of people was imposed on the country in an unconstitutional way in 2018, but the coalition parties had not only ousted them from power in a democratic way, but also cleared the economic mess created by them.
“We have not only fixed the economy but also continued to make efforts to bring further improvement,” she added.
Marriyum said Imran Khan had deprived the people of sugar and wheat, harmed Pakistan’s diplomatic relations with other countries, traded off Kashmir for foreign funds, and above all destroyed the economy which resulted in extreme inflation, poverty and unemployment.
She also played two video clips to substantiate her claim about the bad performance of Imran Khan’s government by comparing it with the one year of the present coalition government.
She said the videos gave a comparative analysis of the two governments’ performances and highlighted the initiatives taken by the coalition government to undo the missteps of the PTI’s regime.
“When the coalition parties came to power, everybody said that the country would soon default, but Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has a vision and roadmap for development, with the national economy on top priority,” she noted.
She said that during first eight months of the present coalition regime, the fiscal deficit in terms of GDP fell from 3.4 to 2.8 percent whereas the current account deficit reduced by 74 percent and trade deficit by 36 per cent.
The minister said the coalition government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had transformed the “journey of economic disaster in the journey on path to prosperity”.
She said the government had been making all-out efforts to pass on relief to the masses in line with the vision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The historic Ramazan Package was rolled out on the PM’s directives to provide subsidies to the masses on major staple food items including wheat flour, sugar and lentils.
The BISP allocation, she said, had also been raised to Rs 400 billion to save the people from the effects of inflation. The distribution of BISP funds and petrol subsidy was planned in a transparent way, she added.
She said the prime minister announced the Rs 1,800 billion Kissan Package and subsidized every item they used for increasing the output of crops.
Pakistan was devastated by floods last year, but PM Shehbaz led from the front and looked after the affectees in an unprecedented way, she said, adding the Federal Government had disbursed Rs 100 billion among the provinces for carrying out relief and rehabilitation efforts across the country.
She said the coalition government also fought Pakistan’s case relating to climate change at international level in a proactive and effective manner and the support the country received from the international community after the floods, was unprecedented.
On the other hand, she said, Imran Khan during his four-year rule had pushed the country into the economic quagmire by shutting down all the major projects in different sectors, including health, infrastructure
and youth related projects.
“When the Imran led gang was imposed in 2018, the country had 6.2 per cent economic growth ratio and CPEC was in full swing, the health card insurance scheme had just started and the youth programme was also paying its dividends.
“Moreover, the national economy was also set to take off with zero load-shedding and zero terrorism in the country. The price of wheat was Rs 35 per kg while sugar was sold at Rs 52 per kg during the five years of the previous PML-N government.
“The last PML-N government had not only successfully completed the IMF programme but also stabilized the economy,” she said.
On the other hand, she added, Imran Khan violated the agreement signed by his own government with the IMF on tough conditions. His government had presented a budget with Rs 5,200 billion fiscal deficit and Rs 40 billion trade deficit. Imran Khan shut down the CPEC projects, power plants and other major infrastructure development schemes.
She said during four years, Imran Khan’s government took 78 percent more loans than all the previous governments had taken during the past 75 years and plunged the country in the debt trap. It had no precedent in the country’s history. Contrary to Imran Khan’s claim that he would bring some 200 experts from abroad for fixing the economy, his regime had destroyed the already flourishing economy, the minister added.
