ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday criticised the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government for mishandling the economic affairs of Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference at a private hotel in the federal capital, the PTI chief claimed that Nawaz’s government took record loans.
“The PPP government took the loan of Rs8 trillion in five years while the current government took Rs10 trillion in just four years,” he claimed.
Comparing the performance of PPP and PML-N governments, Khan said that during Zardari’s government, exports amounted to $24 billion which have now been reduced to $21 billion by the current government.
“Other countries in South Asia have increased their exports while PML-N has reduced them,” alleged Khan. “The reason for the drop in our exports is the expensive electricity and gas in Pakistan as compared to our neighbouring countries.”
Khan further said that Pakistan’s imports dropped to record-low of $54 billion because of which trade deficit has increased, leading to a reduction in foreign reserves.
“This whole scenario has a direct impact on our national security because countries like the US knows, we are running on loans, hence we can be dictated,” he stated, adding that Pakistan cannot take a stand in front of major powers due to the government’s policies.
Talking about taxpayers, the PTI chairman said that 10 years ago, Pakistan had 2.2 million tax filers which have reduced to 1.25 million. “In other countries, the tax filers are increasing but this is the only country where they have reduced.”
Khan said that former finance minister Ishaq Dar misquoted the economic statistics to give an impression that the country’s economy is improving.