Economy to collapse if political instability continues, says Ahsan Iqbal

LAHORE: The country’s economy would collapse if the prevailing political instability continued, said Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Geo News reported. While talking to media and traders in Shakargarh on Sunday, the minister who is also the planning and development minister, talked about the repercussions of economic downfall, saying the country would no longer be able to carry on with investment projects if that happens. He added political instability in the country was being created to hinder the PML-N from gaining victory in the upcoming general elections.

According to Ahsan Iqbal, politics and democracy should be given space in the country as politicians are the advocates of people. He added it is because of them that Pakistan has come back on the path of progress, with projects worth billions of rupees in the pipeline. He also spoke about the major projects, saying no big water scheme was initiated in the country after the Ghazi-Barotha hydropower project. Under the project, water from the Indus River enters into a canal from Ghazi and then flows back into the Indus at Barotha after generating 1,450 megawatt of electricity on its way.

Other than the hydropower project, he said the government also bought the land for the Diamer-Bhasha Dam for Rs1 billion, adding that construction of the dam would begin this year.