Pakistan

Imran slams govt over rupee freefall

Says local currency lost 62% value in just 11 months

Our Correspondent March 02, 2023

PTI chief Imran Khan is addressing supporters via video link after SC verdict on Punjab, K-P elections on Wednesday. SCREENGRAB

LAHORE:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has strongly criticised the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and other allies in the ruling coalition over the continuous rupee freefall.

During a meeting with senior party leaders on Thursday, the PTI chief underscored that the nation had to pay a heavy price for the regime change operation.

The former prime minister pointed out that the rupee lost over 62% of its value in just 11 months of the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) coalition government.

“The historic depreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the greenback increased public debt by Rs14.3 trillion. The PDM government has practically slaughtered the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar, depreciating its price by Rs110 in just 11 months,” he added.

The rupee on Thursday closed at Rs289 against the dollar in the open market.
Imran added that the inflation rate in the country increased to a record high of 31.5%, the highest ever in the history of Pakistan.

He reiterated that the people of Pakistan were paying a heavy price for the regime change conspiracy where a bunch of criminals had been foisted upon the nation by former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, he maintained.

Earlier in a tweet, deposed premier reacted to the photo of Lt-Gen (retd) Amjad Shoaib, which went viral on social media during his detention.

Imran said, “I feel embarrassed as a Pakistani to witness the depths we have sunk to thanks to this imported regime of a cabal of crooks and their handlers. In desperation to cling on to power and muzzle all dissenting voices, they have jailed a respected, patriotic Pakistani on sedition charges.”

Lt Gen (retd) Shoaib was in police custody on three-day physical remand after he was arrested for allegedly making inflammatory statements on a TV channel.

However, the court the dismissed case regarding inciting the public against institutions registered against him and ordered his immediate release on Thursday.