Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Decrying the near-collapse of the Pakistani economy under the Imran Khan-led government, Jamat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul-Haq has criticized the Prime Minister as an “international beggar” and said the incumbent’s departure from power is the “only solution” to the plethora of crisis the country is facing.
His remark came over Islamabad’s recent contentious deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Stating that Imran Khan has become “an international beggar”, he also said that the incumbent government, led by Imran’s Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has failed to rule the country.
Addressing a gathering ahead of local body elections in Lahore on Sunday, Haq demanded a fresh election in the country at the earliest to oust the Imran Khan government.
Slamming the government for raising prices of petroleum products, which has spiraled inflation manifold, he claimed “Pakistan and Imran Khan cannot function together.”
“There is no space left for pluses or minuses from politics in Pakistan, as Imran Khan’s departure is the only solution to all the problems,” Haq said, according to Geo News.
Meanwhile, the Opposition parties have rejected the passing of the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 and the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021, to meet conditions set by the IMF. The bill’s introduction was required to get USD 1 billion in help from the IMF under the USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The JI chief said the government’s claim that it was the “champion of the economy” was bogus. Nothing has changed as “it is merely using old components in new machinery,” he remarked.
Last week, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had dubbed Imran Khan as the ‘crisis of this century’ and that his government has failed on all fronts.
“The government’s deal with IMF would have devastating effects on the nation, “, he had said.
Pakistan’s economy is facing its worst disaster ever. Inflation is at an all-time high in this Islamic country, pushing up the prices of even essential commodities. International watchdog on terror funding, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has had Pakistan on its grey list for a long time, urging it to do more to investigate and prosecute senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups who are involved in terror financing. But nothing has changed on the ground, as terrorist organizations have infested all walks of Pakistan’s life.
As a last-ditch attempt to woo foreign investments, according to media reports, Islamabad is even trying to grant permanent residence status against investments by rich Afghanis, Chinese, and American Sikhs.
Experts have been mounting criticism of the Imran government for the near-collapse of the economy. For example, Shabbar Zaidi, who once headed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), recently lamented that Pakistan has become penniless and no longer even in a position of ‘going concern’.
“Pakistan is facing bankruptcy,” he claimed.