Addressing a meeting of his political party, one of the former Prime Ministers of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the PML-N, supremo Nawaz Sharif said that India successfully reached the moon and subsequently also hosted the 18th G20 Summit 2023, while Pakistan was begging for monetary assistance to stay afloat.
Sharif’s Virtual Address
Addressing the PML-N party meeting in Lahore virtually, prior to return to Pakistan, Sharif said “Today Pakistan’s Prime Minister is running from one country to another to beg for funds while India is set foot on the moon and hosted world leaders on the G-20 Summit. Why couldn’t Pakistan achieve successful feats? Who is responsible for our shambolic state?
He also said that the poor in their country struggled to eat food. What have we done to our country? he said. Criticizing the ongoing state of the Pakistan economy, Sharif said “Those who did this to our country are the biggest criminals.”
He also added that Pakistan was having to beg other countries for even one billion dollars. We are begging for even one billion dollars, What have we come to? Where do we stand in India’s eyes? We are asking for money from China and the Gulf, he noted.
The Pakistan Muslim League(PML-N) chief further said that India had embarked on and followed the economic reform measures in 1990. “When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of India, it only had a billion dollars in their treasury. Now their foreign exchange reserves have swelled to USD 60 billion, Sharif said.
Meanwhile, Shahbaz Sharif said that his brother Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N are set to arrive in Pakistan on October 21, 2023, a Pakistan-based news agency said.
Poor Economic State of Pakistan
Pakistan is reeling from one of its worst economic and political crises that has impacted and influenced the masses. The nation is grappling with severely high inflation, and debt, and the financial safety net of the people and masses of Pakistan appears to be eroding at a very high rate.
Recently, as Pakistan continues to face economic challenges the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made it tougher for the country to ride its fiscal challenges as it rejected the proposal for any tariff adjustments or the provision of additional subsidies, a Pakistan press agency revealed.
Earlier, in the month of July 2023, amid the sweeping economic crisis in the country, Pakistan increased the electricity base rate by PKR by 7.8 per unit resulting in massive disquiet and provoking widespread protests. The Finance Ministry of Pakistan has warned of challenges originating from uncertain external and domestic debt environments, including higher inflation and external debt repayments due to lesser foreign exchange inflows, a media organisation reported.
Nawaz Sharif’s Return
Nawaz Sharif for the first time announced that that he would return to the country on October 21, 2023, to lead the political campaign in the upcoming elections. With this, he will end his self-imposed four-year exile. It is important to note that Sharif spent a seven-year prison term for the Al Aziza Mills corruption case. In November 2019, he was helped by the then-army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa who advised him to leave the country citing medical reasons.
In the wake of his legal troubles, the PML-N announced that Sharif will be secured through a protective bail before he arrives in Pakistan next month. Many of his former aides and allies have already been appointed to the caretaker federal cabinet.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari suspects that Sharif has joined hands with the military establishment. Consequently, several leaders of the PPP have accused the PML-N of becoming a darling of the military.
