“Incumbent govt destroyed the country in 40 days”

LAHORE: Former foreign minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi has asserted that the PML-N-led federal government has destroyed the country within 40 days, ARY News reported on Friday.  

The former minister expressed his views while addressing the participants of the protest, staged at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk against the rising inflation. The demonstrators chanted slogans “Imported government is unacceptable” and “Inflation is unacceptable”.

Addressing the participants, Shah Mehmood Qureshi strongly rejected the increase in petrol price, saying that where are PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz and PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto now, who marched against the inflation in PTI’s tenure.

The former foreign minister pointed out that the PTI government had provided subsidies despite pressure from International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Former premier Imran Khan made it clear that he would not impose any more burden on the people,” he added.

“When Imran Khan came back from Russia, our government was overthrown. Was the former premier planning to buy oil and wheat for himself?” he asked.

He maintained that the people of Pakistan would not accept the IMF’s slavery. “In the past, the rulers used to make policy on America’s wish but our government said ‘ absolutely not’,” the PTI leader added.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi added that they had to pay price for saying ‘absolutely not’. “Imran Khan sacrificed his chair but did not allow the nation to bow down,” he said, adding that the former premier was raising his voice for national interest and not for personal gains.

A day earlier, the federal government increased the prices of petroleum products by Rs30 per litre. After the hike, the price of petrol will be at Rs209.86, diesel at Rs204.15, and kerosene oil at Rs181.56.

This was the second such increase within a span of two weeks as the coalition government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) raised the price of petrol by Rs30 per litre on May 26, the biggest increase in fuel price in the country’s history.