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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said for the first time that a person – allegedly referring to former prime minister Imran Khan – considered himself above the law and defied every institution.
Talking to a delegation of Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), Shehbaz said Pakistan was going through challenges and the coalition government was making every effort to improve the economy.
He said that after 11 months of efforts, the fear of non-payment has been overcome.
He said that the previous government deviated from the terms it agreed with the IMF when it realized in January-February that a constitutional and legal move was being prepared against it and as a result, a new government could come to power.
Staff-level deal with IMF ‘within days’: PM
The Prime Minister said that while working on an agreement with the IMF, the government must accept such conditions, the impact of which will be on the common man.
He said that because of that fear he violated the agreement with the IMF and it is not a private agreement but an agreement of the Pakistani state with the IMF. He said that the loss of breach of contract is before everyone and the Fund is looking for the implementation of the terms agreed by the previous government and the Fund will review them.
“We have to accept this request and we hope that the agreement will be completed and will subsequently be put before the Executive Board of the Fund.” He said that this is a coalition government and he has the impression that Shehbaz Sharif will not be able to lead the coalition government and for the first time in history the coalition government is working under these circumstances. He said the credit goes to the coalition partners.
The Prime Minister said that the government took decisions at a difficult time symbolically or practically to give the impression that it was moving towards austerity. After two and a half hours of deliberation, the entire cabinet unanimously supported the austerity measures and subsequently a government meeting headed by the Minister of Finance was formed, whose meetings have already been held.
He said that next week he will chair the austerity meeting himself. He said he believes in leading by example. He said that the federal government has spent Rs 100 billion for the flood victims through the Benazir Income Support Program and NDMA with transparency for the flood victims.
He said that the donor conference was held in Geneva and announcements were made about the victims of the floods and that the government is trying to fulfill those promises.
After the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, in which millions of homes were destroyed and millions displaced, the people of Pakistan are trying their best to help them. He said the government is sending an aid package to Turkey and Syria and the Pakistani government and people are trying to fulfill their rights.
He said that timely holding of elections is a constitutional and legal requirement and in this regard the federal government is fulfilling its duty.
For example, it was decided by the previous government in 2021, the decision was made by the Council of Common Interests (CGI) to conduct the census again because some provinces and political parties had serious reservations about the previous census and are working on a new census. funds have already been initiated and secured for this purpose.
He said that however some provincial chief secretaries have reservations about the census and want their reservations to be addressed and he will hold a meeting with them.
He said that the KP has already written to the EKP that there are serious threats from terrorism and that the decision to that effect will be made by the EKP.
He said that as the party president he had already instructed the party’s candidates to file their nomination papers for the Punjab and KP elections. He said that this is the first time in history that elections will be held in two provinces and only time will tell the results.
He said that no political party can run away from elections and that his party will participate in the elections no matter what the EKP decides. He said that for the first time a person defies every institution and uses his illness as an excuse for not appearing in court even though he attended rallies and performed other engagements.
He said that Nawaz Sharif was appearing before the courts every day and the interior minister was involved in a fake case.
He said that now the government has made a new policy regarding Toshahana and now any gift worth up to USD 300 can be kept by paying the fixed amount.
Reuters adds: Threats to default by Pakistan are “now over”, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday, adding that a staff-level deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “will be done soon”.
The cash-strapped South Asian nation expects to unlock a $1.1 billion IMF aid package that will be critical to helping it avoid defaulting on foreign debt.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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