LAHORE 15 April (Online): Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that Pakistan had fulfilled all the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), adding “the global lender has no excuse to not give a go-ahead to the deal”.
Addressing a ceremony after reviewing the construction work on six-lane overhead bridge at Imamia Colony railways crossing Shahdra N-5, the prime minister said that we got a “broken agreement from the IMF”.
PM Shehbaz referred to the terms of the global lender for seeking loan agreement and said that the government made every effort to meet them.
They even sought bilateral financial support from friendly nations including China, who acknowledged Pakistan’s problems and provided a rollover of $2 billion loan besides returning back previous debt amount paid back by Pakistan.
The prime minister also expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE had committed a loan of $3 billion. He lauded the efforts of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of the Army Staff Asim Munir for making efforts in this regard.
PM Shehbaz furthered that the 2018 elections were rigging on a large scale.
Talking about the former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI), he said development projects were halted during its tenure.
Speaking of the incumbent government’s free-flour scheme, the prime minister said that there was risky, but it gave relief to people. He said that around 80 to 100 million people in Punjab are benefiting from the scheme.
While talking about the Orange Line, the premier said that “our Orange Line is better than Delhi Orange Line”. “The court gave the project a clean chit,” the premier said.
PM Shehbaz also said that under the leadership of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, the 20-hour load shedding schedule was put an end to in 2018. However, the former government deliberately put things on the back burner.
The prime minister furthered that there existed economic challenges but the nation would have to decide whether they would live on foreign debts, or stand on their feet by carving a niche among the comity of nations with honesty, dedication and hard work.
He expressed the optimism that despite different challenges, Pakistan would be soon out of all difficulties.
“The country was not created to move on debts and act like a beggar, because its ancestors and different generations have rendered sacrifices for the motherland,” he added.
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