MULTAN/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi Sunday came down hard on Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, demanding that the financial czar should resign immediately.
Addressing media persons at a press conference in Multan, the former foreign minister slammed the budget FY24. “Additional taxes of Rs215 billion have been imposed. The nation is already suffering under the burden of taxes, and the financial bill is being revised,” he said.
“Despite the burden of existing taxes, more had been imposed,” he said as reported by Geo News.
Qureshi said the budget presented to the nation was something else while the budget to be approved would be something else entirely. Qureshi also slammed the government’s performance. “Industries are currently in a state of crisis. About 40% of textile industries have closed down and more are being closed; production of large-scale manufacturing is affected,” he said. He further contended that the condition of textile and agriculture industries was “bad” and the country’s economy was shrinking.
Accusing the government of building a false narrative, the former foreign minister said: “Rulers cannot hide the facts. The agricultural sector is suffering from crisis. Fertilizer was running out and a 5% duty had been imposed on it.”
He further remarked that extensive load-shedding was happening across the country. The responsibility should be assigned to another finance minister, he demanded.
The PTI stalwart further said that keeping in view the country’s economy and state of affairs, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had no confidence in Dar.
During the presser, Qureshi also took issue with what he said was the government’s failure to show responsibility following the joint statement issued by the US and India earlier this week. The statement emphasized the need for Pakistan to take action against extremist groups based in Pakistan.
The PTI leader expressed shock at the indifference shown by the country’s officials in the matter. “The foreign minister did not respond to the statement issued by the American president and Indian prime minister,” he said, highlighting that there was no mention of the oppression of Kashmiris in the joint statement.
“There is no comment on the treatment of minorities in India,” Qureshi said, adding that everyone was silent on what was happening to Muslims in India.
The Line of Control (LoC) was violated and two civilians were killed yesterday, Qureshi said, while also lamenting on the loss of lives in the Greek shipwreck.
Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Sunday it was strange that those who ruined the national economy were now crying over signs of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a statement, the minister said that on May 9, they burned the country, attacked military and private properties, desecrated the memorials of martyrs and now they were preparing to damage the economic interests of the country again. “Arsonists, conspirators and enemies of the country have started crying again as they heard the news that the agreement with IMF was being restored,” she maintained.
The foreign agents who laid economic mines and nearly bankrupted the country and deprived the people of livelihood were today demanding the resignation of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, she said and added that shameless criminals who plunged the country into an unprecedented inflation were demanding resignation of Ishaq Dar, who had stabilised the economy.
Marriyum said the previous regime signed the IMF agreement on strict terms, violated it and then suspended the agreement, then hatched conspiracies against the country and the agreement. Questions should be asked from those who were crying over the agreement that why they signed the agreement with the IMF. She said it was ironic that those who were shouting about the agreement had themselves signed the agreement with the IMF. “Not only did they violate and suspend this agreement, but they conspired to make the country default,” she added.
The minister said that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif during his tenure had stabilised the country’s economy but “the foreign agent” shook the foundations of the economy and the country had to seek the IMF support. “Nawaz Sharif is the only leader whose government completed the IMF programme and also put the country on the path of development,” she remarked.
Taking a jibe at Imran Khan, she said why the person who used to claim that he would prefer to die instead of seeking IMF assistance knocked on the doors of IMF.
