ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday that he was confident he would emerge victorious as he was more confident than the opposition.
In a meeting with senior editors of various newspapers, columnists and anchorpersons, the prime minister said the government will hold by-elections as per the Constitution if the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) tendered resignations from the assemblies. He said the local bodies elections in the country will be held after the Senate elections in April 2021.
During the meeting, the premier spoke about various issues, including the opposition’s protest movement, the coronavirus pandemic and international conspiracies being hatched against Pakistan.
Imran Khan reiterated his position that the government was willing to hold a dialogue with the opposition on every issue but "no talks on giving NRO will be held with the opposition". Referring to protest movements by the opposition’s PDM, the premier said that the government will not use force against them.
"The opposition wants to instigate chaos in the country, they want the government to use force (against it)," he said. He pointed out that in Multan, the opposition broke the locks of stadium in such a way, as if Nelson Mandela and Che Guevara were coming there. “Let them have fun while I am master of holding public meetings and staging sit-ins,” he quipped.
Imran Khan said the government will implement the orders of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) while dealing with rallies. He also alleged that there was foreign hand behind the movement of the opposition.
The premier alleged that 40 representatives of the PML-N were land grabbers. Speaking about not going to the parliament, Imran Khan said he wanted to present his point of view there but the opposition members don’t even let him talk there.
Imran Khan conceded that his government's "biggest mistake" was not securing a financial deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) immediately after getting elected.
"A coalition comprising a few countries does not want to see a strong Pakistan," Imran Khan said. "Whatever happened in Iraq, happened for the same reason. Iraq and Iran were made to fight each other in an attempt to break up the two nations," he added.
Imran Khan touched upon heightening tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, saying that efforts were being made "according to a plan" by a 'source' to weaken the two nations. He said that the same was being done to Pakistan.
"There is a source behind whatever is happening inside Pakistan," said the prime minister, without alluding to what he meant. "Efforts are being made to create instability across the country," he said. The premier also spoke about another mistake that his government made. "The second biggest mistake was not initiating the process of institutional reforms," he said.
He also admitted that some failure was faced in the Petroleum Ministry. He said even a little wrong move in the Petroleum Ministry results in massive losses. He said the power sector is in crisis due to enormous debt and IMF is pressing for increase in power rates to reduce circular debt, but the government is of the view that it can’t be done because power rates are already very high in Pakistan.
Imran Khan said that the coronavirus was getting "dangerous" by the day, adding that it still wasn't clear how damaging will the infection be for the country. He said the government was making rapid progress in the construction sector which in turn was having a positive effect on the economy.
Speaking on the civil-military relations, the prime minister said that every policy of his government is supported by the armed forces.
Referring to massive income of Switzerland, Turkey and Malaysia from tourism, Imran Khan said his government is also prioritising development of tourism sector. He said quality bureaucracy is required for swift development.
He said his adviser Dr Sultan has worked his heart out to prepare a draft about reforms in bureaucracy. About changes of portfolios of ministers, he said the PTI government has come to power first time and it did not have experience of dealing with bureaucracy.
About the government achievements and measures, the prime minister said every household in Punjab will have a health card by December 2021, while the process will be completed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by March 2021 under which every family will have health insurance of Rs1 million. He said the government has also started Ehsaas Kafaalat programme the benefits of which are quite visible.
The prime minister said his government has initiated construction work on Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams after 50 years. He said new model cities are also being constructed near Lahore and Karachi which have brought a revolution in construction sector.
Imran Khan said the biggest achievement of his government is long-term planning, while the previous governments only planned for five-year tenure.
The prime minister said that one Najeeb had come to power after Mahathir Muhammad and he was like Nawaz Sharif, but Mahathir came again to power but was not allowed to continue and sent home within two and a half years. He added that though the time was very difficult, but he knew that he would win.
About the IHC judgement on advisors and special assistants, he said the government would respect the court decision and find a way out for which a meeting would be held soon. When asked if Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh had to go, he replied that they had an option on which they were to hold a meeting.
When asked was he satisfied with his economic team, he replied that none could be satisfied but there would be betterment, God willing, with the putting in place of a system of reward and punishment.
