Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,825
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Prime Minister Imran Khan once again reiterated that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government inherited a poor economy when it came to power in 2018, while addressing a National Assembly session on Budget 2020-21 on Thursday.
Responding to accusations by the opposition that the PTI-led government is ‘hiding behind coronavirus’, the prime minister said that it was not just Pakistan but the whole world was going through a crisis.
“We inherited an economy with $20b current account deficit,” he said. “This was the worst deficit in our history. Our exports were stagnant but our imports were more than $60b,” observed the premier.
Talking about the country’s liabilities, the PM said that the first year of PTI was the most difficult as it had to pay off debt acquired by the previous government.
“I have been the one to raise funds all my life, and I have not been ashamed of asking for money from Pakistani nationals,” said the PM. “What I am ashamed of is when we ask for money from other countries to pay a debt that was not due to us.”
He said that a prime minister is like a father to its citizens.
On Covid-19
The prime minister said that there was never any contradiction in his statements regarding the lockdown.
He claimed that Pakistan’s was the only government that had a coherent response to the pandemic, while the rest of the world remained confused.
“The NCOC has done a remarkable job,” he said. There was no data available to us regarding medical facilities. But the NCOC collected data and facilitated us in making informed decisions.”
He further added that the country was going through a difficult time and the next phase was going to be even more difficult. “We have to sensitise people about following the SOPs.”
“There is pressure on the health care system,” he said. “We have to protect elderly people and people with underlying medical conditions.”
“Other than India you look at the US where coronavirus is spreading and they are still easing the lockdown.”
The entire world is facing the problem, not just Pakistan, he added. Most of the impact was on the services and tourism sectors.
He further added that we have to prioritize the construction and agriculture sector. “We are lacking in seed development. We are trying to import technology from China.”
The premier said that duties have been lifted from thousands of raw material so that country’s exports can increase.
“Till the time you do not incentivise the industries, you cannot compete,” he added.
Talking about the allocation of resources to former FATA areas, the PM said for the first erstwhile FATA has been allocated full resources and there is a record-high allocation to Balochistan
“All the provinces gave their word that they would give 3pc of their NFC for FATA’s development as it was affected grossly by the war on terror.”
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2250267/1-pm-imran-defends-govts-response-covid-19-economic-situation/
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Prime Minister Imran Khan once again reiterated that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government inherited a poor economy when it came to power in 2018, while addressing a National Assembly session on Budget 2020-21 on Thursday.
Responding to accusations by the opposition that the PTI-led government is ‘hiding behind coronavirus’, the prime minister said that it was not just Pakistan but the whole world was going through a crisis.
“We inherited an economy with $20b current account deficit,” he said. “This was the worst deficit in our history. Our exports were stagnant but our imports were more than $60b,” observed the premier.
Talking about the country’s liabilities, the PM said that the first year of PTI was the most difficult as it had to pay off debt acquired by the previous government.
“I have been the one to raise funds all my life, and I have not been ashamed of asking for money from Pakistani nationals,” said the PM. “What I am ashamed of is when we ask for money from other countries to pay a debt that was not due to us.”
He said that a prime minister is like a father to its citizens.
On Covid-19
The prime minister said that there was never any contradiction in his statements regarding the lockdown.
He claimed that Pakistan’s was the only government that had a coherent response to the pandemic, while the rest of the world remained confused.
“The NCOC has done a remarkable job,” he said. There was no data available to us regarding medical facilities. But the NCOC collected data and facilitated us in making informed decisions.”
He further added that the country was going through a difficult time and the next phase was going to be even more difficult. “We have to sensitise people about following the SOPs.”
“There is pressure on the health care system,” he said. “We have to protect elderly people and people with underlying medical conditions.”
“Other than India you look at the US where coronavirus is spreading and they are still easing the lockdown.”
The entire world is facing the problem, not just Pakistan, he added. Most of the impact was on the services and tourism sectors.
He further added that we have to prioritize the construction and agriculture sector. “We are lacking in seed development. We are trying to import technology from China.”
The premier said that duties have been lifted from thousands of raw material so that country’s exports can increase.
“Till the time you do not incentivise the industries, you cannot compete,” he added.
Talking about the allocation of resources to former FATA areas, the PM said for the first erstwhile FATA has been allocated full resources and there is a record-high allocation to Balochistan
“All the provinces gave their word that they would give 3pc of their NFC for FATA’s development as it was affected grossly by the war on terror.”
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2250267/1-pm-imran-defends-govts-response-covid-19-economic-situation/