Rupee fall: Imran, Miftah trade barbs

As the rupee continued its losing streak against the US dollar, the blame game between the PML-N and PTI carried on as well, with the latest development being the war of words between former premier Imran Khan and Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Twitter on Saturday.

Commenting on the worsening situation, PTI chief Imran slammed the ruling coalition, which he referred to as an “imported government” that was “made up of crooks but is thoroughly incompetent too”.

He pointed out that the dollar stood at Rs178 when he was voted out of power, but it had reached Rs250 now.
Similarly, he added, inflation stood at 16.5% but had now spiralled up to 38%.

Responding to the former premier’s tweet, the finance minister said when Imran assumed charge, the dollar was at Rs122, and by the time he was ousted, it had gone up to Rs190.

He added that the PTI government had taken the foreign debt from Rs25 trllion to Rs44 trillion.

The minister maintained that Imran had “left the energy sector in a serious mess” with no provision or contracts for gas or fuel, and circular debts ofRs2.5 trillion in power and Rs1.5 trillion in gas.

“Last year alone, [the] addition to power circular debt was Rs850 billion,” he added.
He lambasted the PTI government for driving the country towards bankruptcy after violating the agreement with the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) by giving subsidies on fuel.

Miftah maintained that the coalition government had saved the country from default.

“We have saved Pakistan from defaulting and are proud of it,” he added.

The minister claimed that from Toshakhana watches to foreign funding and Farah Khan wielding power and taking bribes, the government was aware who the “real thief” was.

“We know who is corrupt, untruthful & incompetent. IK and IK alone is responsible for this mess,” he further wrote.

Separately, PTI leaders slammed the imported government for its “incompetence” and “apathy” due to which Pakistan’s economy was sinking with alarming speed, as inflation skyrocketed this week and the rupee hit a record low.

PTI Central Secretary General Asad Umar and senior leader Shaukat Tarin, in their statements, expressed serious concerns over the fast-dwindling economic situation of the country.

Umar claimed that the incompetence of the ”imported government” and its lack of interest were the main contributors to the country's economic troubles.

He added that the inflation reaching its highest level in a week had compounded the miseries and hardship of the people, but the “corrupt” and “incompetent” rulers adopted a callous attitude towards their miseries.

The former planning minister noted that the prices of basic necessities had increased by more than 37%, which was the highest level in the history of Pakistan.

He added that there had been an increase of 3.68% in just one week.

Separately, Tarin blasted the government for “crushing the people under the unprecedented price hike of daily-use items”.

He added that the gravity of the situation could be judged from the fact that inflation had climbed to almost 40% under the incumbent “incompetent” government while they used to blame the PTI government for the inflation of 12.5%.

The former finance minister said the rupee was in a free fall, as the current government was completely clueless and could not handle the economy.

He wondered how long it would wait for holding fresh elections.