Those who could have foiled plot also responsible: Imran

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Monday said those who could have prevented the conspiracy, but kept watching, were also responsible for the country’s current economic situation.

Speaking to the PTI’s national council meeting here, former premier asserted that while conspiring against his government, the incumbent rulers must have a plan to get out of the situation. But now the credibility of the present government has gone so low at the international level that the army chief had to talk to the US for a loan from the IMF [International Monetary Fund], he regretted.

The PTI chairman also announced big protest demonstration outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on August 4 to demand resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja. He claimed that 80 per cent people did not trust the CEC.

He regretted that ever since the incumbent government was formed, the Pak Rupee had lost its value by 30 per cent. “But, in a meeting, these dacoits were seen smiling,” he recalled. Imran alleged that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) had neither stabilised the country’s economy nor carried out reforms and thought of the country.

The PTI chairman said alleged that the rulers had nothing to do with the economy as well as inflation, for their objective of coming to power was to protect their Rs1,100 billion by giving themselves an ‘NRO’ [abolition of criminal cases against them].

He contended that the country should be led by those who have everything in Pakistan; who are to live and die here. He again alleged that the incumbent rulers had everything abroad and they came to the country only to rule and plunder the national wealth.

The PTI chief said that a party could never progress unless it becomes an institution and has merit; merit comes when elections are held in the party. “We organised a big election in our party for 11 months, because there is no trend of elections within the political parties of Pakistan,” he explained.

He alleged that the Election Commissioner tried its best not to allow the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs), because two other political parties [PMLN and PPP] opposed these machines. Imran Khan said that for two weeks before the by-elections on 20 seats in Punjab, they were just trying to stop the fraud, for the conduct of clean and transparent elections. An NGO report said that there were 163 methods of rigging elections; once the EVMs come in, those would eliminates 130 methods of fraud, he claimed.

After the general election, he said they would immediately use technology to hold massive intra-party elections so that those who were working hard at the grassroots level could come up in the party.

The PTI chairman said these people said “We want to topple the government due to inflation; but Allah exposed them to the entire nation. “What these people have done in the last three-and-a-half months shows that they are not interested in economy and inflation, their only purpose is to get an NRO.”

“Inflation is on the rise; the economy is in a shambles; they saved their corruption worth Rs1,100 billion by amending the NAB law,” Imran Khan said. The former premier said when the no-confidence motion was brought in, the dollar was at Rs178, but today its price has reached Rs250. Similarly, the interest rate was 11 per cent as compared to 15.5 per cent today, the tax collection growth rate in March was 32 per cent, its growth in July has come down to 10 per cent.

“Exports and remittances were rising at record levels in our times, while today these two things are going down; it is very dangerous because it is leading us to default,” he cautioned. He said, “when the no-confidence motion was brought against us, our foreign exchange reserves were $16.4 billion, while today foreign exchange reserves have halved. Similarly, the growth rate of large industries was 26pc, which has come down to 10pc today”.