Imran holds out assurance on Rawalpindi test match

PTI chief meets UK high commissioner, PCB chairman; addresses seminar on economy in Karachi

LAHORE:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan assured the British High Commissioner Christian Turner and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja that his party’s ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ [real freedom] March would not hinder the first cricket Test between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi.

Imran met Turner and Raja at his Zaman Park residence. They enquired after the health of the former prime minister and condemned the gun attack on him during the long march in Wazirabad on November 3. They also discussed matters of mutual interest.

Imran has given the call for the convergence of his supporters in Rawalpinidi on Saturday. The next day, the England cricket team will arrive in the federal capital to play the Test series against Pakistan after a gap of 17 years. The first Test will start at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on December 1.

Imran assured that the PTI long march would not affect the Rawalpindi Test. “You continue the preparations, there will be no hindrance to the Pindi Test due to our movement,” Imran told the British high commissioner and the PCB chairman.

Separately, the PTI chairman addressed a seminar on the performance of the economy and the challenges, organised by the PTI's economic cell in Karachi via a video link. In his address, Imran supported a presidential form of government in the country. “There is stability in the presidential system,” Imran said.

Speaking about the economic challenges facing the country, Imran said that when the PTI came to power in 2018, the situation was very bad and the first year of the government was very difficult. Had Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates not cooperated, the country’s survival would have been at stake.

Then, the PTI chairman added, came coronavirus and the European countries went into lockdown. “But we did not do it [lockdown] in Pakistan. What would have happened to the daily-wage earners if there was a lockdown,” he asked. “We increased employment opportunities by giving incentives to construction industry.”

The former prime minister said that because of the two families, who governed the country in the 1990s, the economy started deteriorating. “No genius will be able to fix the economy until there is political stability. Until elections are held, there will be no political stability in the country,” he added.

He stressed that the presidential system provided stability, adding that good governance could not be established in the country until the rule of law was improved. “There are mafias everywhere and the biggest one is the real estate mafia, you cannot imagine what its power is?”

“Government land worth Rs1,200 billion is occupied in Islamabad alone,” Imran said. “We wanted to raise taxes using technology but these people sitting inside did not want that. Imran emphasised that the PTI did not need to run an election campaign because it would come to power anyway.

To improve the economic situation, Imran suggested various measures. “All [relevant] people have to focus on bringing dollars into the country,” he said, adding that around 10 million Pakistanis living abroad should be given investment opportunities.

He also suggested measures to give amnesty to only those who invested in the industry to whiten their black money. The former prime minister told the seminar participants that there was a lot of potential in various sectors of the economy, including tourism.

Imran repeated his call for purchasing Russian oil, which was available at much cheaper rates. “We should have bought oil from Russia. We could have convinced America about buying the cheap oil. In his address, Imran also insisted that governments should come for five years.