Imran asks govt MPs to effectively counter opposition’s narrative

ISLAMABAD: The opposition is winning in the war of narrative due to the weak defence of government members in the media relating the ongoing economic crisis, PM Imran Khan said and urged his lawmakers to highlight their case in simple language and keep repeating so that it becomes part of public memory.

Addressing a meeting of the ruling coalition in Parliament late Tuesday, Imran sounded dissatisfied with the performance of the government spokespersons appearing in talk shows. “The narrative of opposition is dominating in the media. People are not listening to us,” an insider told The News quoting Imran who suggested presentation of complicated economic issues in a simple language for common masses to understand. People are stranger to terms like current account deficit, he reportedly said. Tell them in simple language how much loan has escalated during the previous ten years, he continued, saying it has gone up from Rs6,000 billion to Rs30,000 billion. Keep repeating the figure of Rs24,000 billion loan accumulated during the stints of PPP and PML-N, Imran advised.

Regarding criticism of borrowing done by PTI govt, tell people that we have taken soft loans to pay the heavy loans accrued by the previous government, he said. People must also know that we have taken austerity measures to cut budget deficit and that current rulers have adopted simple life style in contrast with the former rulers who had princely living, Imran said. He lauded Murad Saeed as the best performer on this front, referring to his speech in the NA late Monday where he cited excerpts from the book of former US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, to make a point about the NRO deal that Benazir Bhutto had brokered in 2007. Imran pressed on lawmakers to go to talk shows well-prepared, use documented references and consult economic team of the government for the purpose of clarity and information.

The source said that the prime minister’s observations reflect the fact the he keeps himself abreast of latest happenings in the media and remains vigilant all the time. He said that Imran often guides his spokespersons to counter, what he called, opposition’s wrong moves.

Adviser to PM on Finance, Dr Hafeez Sheikh, also gave a detailed briefing to the lawmakers about the state of economy and the steps being taken to fix it. He shared the government plan of industrialisation. In addition, he lauded the army for voluntarily capping the defence budget and also explained about the zero duty on import of raw material in 1,700 categories.

While talking to The News, Adviser to PM on Information, Dr Firdous Ashiq denied the impression that Imran conceded defeat on a narrative front during that meeting. However, she said PM has on occasions made a point that public should be taken into confidence. As the negativity sells more than positivity on media, the opposition highlights negative news accordingly.

The adviser said the government initially didn’t highlight the point about the abject economic conditions when PTI took power as there were only foreign exchange reserves for two months, public didn’t know who to blame for the current mess. We remained silent in the best interest of the country, she said. Making those information public could have adverse impact on the economy. Meanwhile, opposition played with the ignorance of the masses, she said.