Thursday, 10 March, 2022 I 6 Shaʽban, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 251 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition
I’m comIng aFter you, Imran tells ZardarI g
PM Khan also wins suPPort of MQM-P, GDa leaDers
KARACHI
F
staff rport
acinG arguably the biggest challenge of his political career in the form of the no-trust vote, the prime minister put Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson asif ali Zardari on his radar, saying the former president was his “next target”. addressing party workers and supporters at Governor house in Karachi, where had gone to meet the leadership of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), a member of the ruling coalition, imran Khan told Zardari that his “time has come”. the no-confidence motion the opposition parties moved against him would be the “political death” of the joint opposition, he added. “the gang of dacoit is shaking [in fear], the opposition is now stuck and the kaptaan has made preparations for when they fail. i will go after them […] i will not spare them,” said Khan.
Khan said that he was waiting for the “gang of robbers” as they were claiming after “every two months” that the government would be leaving. “i was thinking somehow their necks come in my hand,” said the prime minister, adding he wanted the opposition to submit the motion. he said the opposition has become “trapped” after submitting the motion, adding he has planned his moves for the future and will not stop once he “wins” the backing of the national assembly. he said he was busy for the past three-and-a-half-year in “stabilising the country amid various disruptions”, warning the opposition that it should now brace for his response. “i was thinking of somehow getting hold of their neck […] the God has finally listened to my prayer and they submitted the moton. now they have been trapped and their no-confidence move is going to rebound on them.” he said his counter plan for the opposition was also “ready”.
Prime Minister Khan said that Pti leaders have successfully held the huqooq-i-sindh march and the support of the people of sindh made it clear that they want change now. Khan said it is time to get rid of elements who have destroyed the province of sindh. he said the country is going in the right direction and we have gone through every challenge, including the coronavirus crisis, and provided relief to our people. he specially mentioned the collection of record taxes in the current financial year and said because of this, we have provided relief through a record reduction in the petrol and diesel prices. the prime minister also mentioned the country has witnessed a remarkable increase in exports, remittances and in the production of major crops. he said we have also stood strong during the afghanistan crisis and will overcome the problems that are bound to come forward due to the ukraine crisis. Khan said the federal government is working on a development package for Karachi to resolve its longstanding problems. he congratulated the people of Karachi for the Green line bus rapid transit service and Karachi circular railway (Kcr) on which work is underway. imran Khan said that the “Zardari mafia” destroyed the country, especially the province of sindh, while fazl urrehman has also made billions in dirty money. he vowed to bring back the looted money and bring the electricity prices further down. he said Pakistan suffered greatly by taking sides and lost more than 80 thousand people, both forces and civilians, in the us-led war on terror (wot). the prime minister said it was high time that Pakistan was acknowledged for its role.
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IMF taken in loop over cuts in Petroleum, Power prices, says Tarin IslAmAbAd staff report
finance Minister shaukat tarin on wednesday said that the government has held discussions with the international Monetary fund (iMf) over a recent relief package that was announced by the PM Khan. “we conversed only about what was necessary,” tarin said during a media interaction here on wednesday. he added that Pakistan was neither increasing its fiscal deficit nor taking any loans to provide relief to the people. he said the government had announced subsidies due to improvement in revenues of late. the finance minister explained that for the package, the government extracted some amount from ehsaas Programme allocations and the covid-19 budget, adding that “we also had dividends from state-owned enterprises”. he said there were multiple areas from where the government gathered finances to formulate the relief package. “i do not think they [iMf] should have any problem with that,” the minister insisted. he said it was not a concern of the iMf but “it is the responsibility of the government to apprise them of such decisions including the looming politi-
cal instability as well.” he also dispelled an impression that the relief package was announced for “political reasons,” saying the government was cognisant of burgeoning prices and hence it decided to formulate a plan to provide relief to the masses. the minister said the government also discussed with china their investment plans and future roadmap for Pakistan. “we sought their support in sectors including industries, agriculture, it sector and trade.” he underlined that the government had also asked china to commence projects built under the china-Pakistan economic corridor. “it will help us economically.” he maintained that Pakistan could not move forward without undertaking industrialisation. the minister reiterated that Pakistan’s economy was moving in the right direction. “inflation in January had reached 13pc and it has now dropped to 12.2pc last month.” he also said the foreign investors were considerably satisfied with measures taken by the government for facilitation of businesses, however, “they have sought a little more improvement as well, which we are working on.”
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