ISLAMABAD (National Times) – Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the current situation is not less than a challenge for the incumbent government, they are ready to take more tough decisions if needed.
Speaking to the media after chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet, the prime minister, said that the former government had left behind a backlog of worst and faulty economic policies, tainted with poor performance, adding that if required in future, they wil take more tough decisions.
Taking a dig at his predecessor, the PM said he reduced petroleum prices at the time of their exit from power corridors which smack of conspiracy and based upon ill-will.
He also mentioned that the global economic situation was complicated as the prices of petrol and grains were spiraling.
The government had decided to increase prices of petroleum products with heavy heart, he said, adding, under a decision in the budget, about 70 million people were being provided financial support worth millions of rupees through the activation of a helpline.
About the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement, the prime minister observed that the previous PTI’s government had promised to increase prices and impose taxes, but they retracted and violated the pact by which they ought to abide by.
He said that due to such ploys by the previous government, today, the country was facing difficulty with the IMF.
The prime minister further explained that in the budget, they had decided to divert the burden from the poor and levy a tax upon the wealthy people.
“We will not budge from taking the necessary steps to set the country’s economy on the right track with hard work and the nation’s prayers,” he stressed.
He expressed the confidence that the affluent and wealthy class would pay taxes and offer sacrifices for the country and nation.
“If they had any concerns and felt pains for the people, they ought to leave behind a precedent of serving the masses by providing any relief, so that it can be said that they had worked for the people,” the prime minister regretted.
