Political talk: ‘Imran Khan scared of losing support by 2018’

Ahsan Iqbal says international <br /> financial institutions have praised the govt’s performance.

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said on Sunday that the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) sit-ins at Islamabad’s D-Chowk had resulted in a loss of billions of rupees to the national economy.

He was speaking to journalists at the Institute of Engineers Pakistan. Iqbal said PTI chairman Imran Khan was scared of losing in the 2018 elections the votes his party had polled in 2013 as he had realised that the development projects initiated by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government were destined for success and would make it more popular. He said agitation politics could be described as economic warfare as it compromised economic stability.  Iqbal said the sit-ins had negatively impacted daily-wage workers, farmers and exporters.

Iqbal said international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and Moody’s had praised the government’s performance in the previous year. He said Khan had tried to mislead the people by trying to give the impression that projects under the Pak-China Economic Corridor had been restricted only to the Punjab. He said Khan should tell the people whether the Karot Hydropower Project and the Thar Energy Park were in the Punjab.

The minister said the government had never prioritised the initiation of development projects in one province over another. Iqbal said the government had been striving to initiate low-cost energy projects to ensure equitable national development. He said the government had also been rationalising project costs to minimise expenses. The minister said the government had been trying to put Pakistan on a sound economic footing in accordance with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s economic agenda. Iqbal said a Roshan Pakistan or Naya Pakistan would only come about if the people united to help the country overcome the challenges confronting it.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2014.