Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday drew a comparison between him and the former rulers, telling his party leaders and the spokespersons that it shouldn’t be difficult for them to defend him and the government’s policies against the former “corrupt” rulers
“On one hand you have internationally-recognised thieves and on the other you have Imran Khan, defending whom is not difficult at all,” the PM told the party leadership while referring to former premier Nawaz Sharif and ex-president Asif Ali Zardari
“Your brand is Imran Khan, who is neither corrupt nor a thief,” a participant of a meeting of party leaders and spokespersons held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad quoted PM Imran as saying
While referring to Ron Suskind’s book (The Way of the World, 2008) and BBC documentaries highlighting corruption of the former rulers, the party leaders revealed, PM Imran said that the allegations were never contradicted yet the opposition leaders kept on defending “thieves, robbers and corrupt leaders”
“Don't let the opposition dominate in any way… show them the mirror,” PM Imran was quoted by a party leader as saying, adding, “Your leader is not like their leaders”
Also read: Taxing time: A closer look at the finance bill Among other things, PM Imran directed the party members to strongly counter the opposition’s narrative against the supplementary finance bill – mini budget of Rs375 billion – which was recently introduced in the National Assembly
Out of the total, PM Imran said, taxes amounting to only Rs2 billion were being presented out of proportion
During the meeting, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin gave a presentation on finance bill, economic indicators and inflation, saying the agriculture, information technology and exports were at the highest level and inflation was expected to go down in the next month or two
The participants didn’t ask how much inflation would be decreased in the coming months, a party leader said when asked to give a number
He, however, said that it will definitely start going down from the next month, adding the premier told the participants to spread the word that inflation would start going down from next month or so
Senator Faisal Javed while speaking to The Express Tribune said that the premier was satisfied with the finance minister’s presentation and directed the party leaders to highlight the party’s performance of previous year
The senator said that the premier asked the party leaders to highlight government’s success on remittances, exports and the benefits that the farmers got last year, adding that the government’s performance in tackling Covid-19 outbreak and vaccination must also be highlighted
In addition, Javed said, the premier told the members to highlight government’s achievements on climate change issue and on providing the facility of health cards
“We have so much to showcase in terms of growing remittances, exports, the benefits that the farmers got,” Javed quoted PM as saying
“Tell people about government’s globally recognised performance on Covid-19 and climate change issue,” the PM added
In the meeting, the premier emphasised that the documented economy was the need of the hour and in the national interest
The meeting summoned to discuss the overall economic and political situation was attended by roughly 50 members of the ruling party
| Date: | 04-Jan-2022 | Reference: | View Original Link |
|---|