People have had enough of PTI govt, says opposition
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweets out condemnation against desecration of Holy Quran while Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari briefs OIC on efforts to counter Islamophobia. PHOTO: FILE
The opposition on Saturday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s oft-repeated rhetoric of putting the onus of every evil facing the country on the Bhutto and the Sharif families had been badly worn out, emphasising that the mantra won’t make such “cooked up” charge true.
The reaction came a day after the prime minister blamed the Bhuttos and the Sharifs for destroying the country and having a hand in every problem the country is faced with today. Premier Imran in his interview with Al-Jazeera said that developing countries were poor not because they lacked the required resources but due to their “corrupt” ruling elite that siphons off money to offshore accounts.
“Corruption is something that destroys a country. The poor countries are poor not because they lack resources but because their leadership is corrupt,” PM Imran said. Reportedly, he said that Pakistan was rich in resources but the Bhutto and Sharif families used them unfairly, adding that his government was fighting against the two super-rich families.
The opposition said, “We’ve been hearing the prime minister accusing us of every problem for the past three years, however, little did he realise that the level of corruption has increased during his tenure.”
Senator Sherry Rehman said, “The prime minister is blaming the Bhutto and the Sharif families for his three years of destruction. The rhetoric of blaming others for one's own incompetence has now badly worn out.”
The PPP senator said, “The prime minister thinks that everyone except him intends to do corruption in politics, but the majority of the country thinks that corruption has increased during this [PTI’s] government.” Sherry reminded the prime minister that he has increased the size of the country’s total debt by 70% by taking loans worth Rs20.7 trillion in three years, yet he continued blaming others.
The PPP senator, while referring to the weekly report, stated that the overall inflation rate was at 19.49% and questioned whether the government was not responsible for the record debt, inflation, unemployment and other crises during the past three years. “When will the government accept its responsibilities,” she asked in a series of tweets. “Maybe, they [the rulers] don’t realise yet that they are in the government.”
She reminded the ruling party that this time people will ask about its performance during the election and the leadership won’t be able to justify that by blaming others. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb asked the prime minister to stop repeating the same “false accusations” because it won’t make the allegations true.
Responding to the PM’s address, Marriyum said, “Transparency International had already awarded the international certificate of corruption to this government and declared this Imran-led government a thief.”
Under the incumbent government, she said, Pakistan ranked 124 out of 180 countries — dropping four spots over last year — in the TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) because of rampant corruption by PM “Imran and his cronies”.
The former information minister said due to PM Imran mafia cartels had enslaved the nation, alleging that Imran helped these mafias “rob the nation of billions through sugar, flour and medicine scandals and the irony is that he blames others for same”.
She accused the premier of aiding and abetting the “mafias” involved in siphoning off billions of rupees in the Ring Road project, Covid funds, Toshakhana and other mega-corruption scandals, adding that yet he has the audacity to point fingers at others.
Marriyum said PM Imran has been levelling “false allegations” for the past 22 years and had been in government for almost four years, yet he couldn't prove any of the accusations. “Had he spent this time and resources to solve national issues and public welfare, he might have gotten something done,” she said.
With each passing day and every failure of his government, she said, the prime minister was going to ramp up his allegations and rumour factory but the people have had enough of the rhetoric.
She maintained that the country was going deeper into the economic recession, gas shortages, rising unemployment while PM Imran had nothing to offer but the same old and baseless allegations, however, the government had to face embarrassment in courts.