‘Falsely Accused Our Brothers of Corruption’: Pak PM Shehbaz Claims Imran Damaged Ties with China

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his finance minister Ishaq Dar chose to blame former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan for the country’s current economic problems.

Pakistani media outlet Dawn in a report said that both ministers, while attending an event where they inaugurated the Green Line Express Train service in Islamabad, failed to give a plan that would bring some relief to Pakistanis facing hardships due to the economic crisis.

Dar challenged the former prime minister Imran Khan to a debate while Sharif blamed his predecessor for disturbing relations between China and Pakistan.

Dar, in his speech, even indicated that divine intervention could also see Pakistan emerging out of this crisis. The comments came after the Pakistani Rupee witnessed one of its steepest slumps against the US dollar.

“Allah Almighty is responsible for the prosperity and development of Pakistan. If Allah can create Pakistan, He can also protect, develop and make it prosper. It is the only country founded in the name of Islam and Allah is responsible for its development and prosperity,” Dar was quoted as saying by the Dawn, but he was not able to share a concrete plan with citizens of Pakistan.

He also said that Pakistan was compelled to follow the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) directives because of mismanagement under the regime of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan.

The IMF team will travel to Pakistan next week and carry out a review before releasing another set of funds to the cash-strapped nation. The IMF will release $1.18 billion if the review is conducted successfully. It had sanctioned a loan worth $7 billion to help Pakistan avert the economic crisis during Imran Khan’s tenure as Pakistan Prime Minister.

Shehbaz Sharif also criticised his predecessor and accused him of disturbing ties with China. He said that the PTI government was incompetent and relations with China soured during Khan’s reign which stalled development in the country.

Acknowledging that Pakistan was going through a “difficult time”, Sharif said: “(The coalition government) is trying day and night to bring the country out of the difficult economic situation”

“(The PTI) accused our Chinese brothers and companies of committing corruption,” Sharif further added.

Dar, later while attending a news programme on television, also attacked Imran Khan and challenged him to a debate.

“We are compelled to take dictation from the IMF because you have backed out sovereign commitments made with the IMF for which the country is facing an acute financial crisis, inflation, unbridled dollar flight, ample foreign and local debts,” Dar said, according to the Dawn, accusing Khan of misleading the nation.

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