ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday delivered a long address to the National Assembly, laying particular stress on making elections controversy-free and inviting the Opposition to work with the government on reforms that will help achieve that aim.
His address came a day after the government smoothly passed Finance Bill 2021-22.
A large number of Opposition leaders were not in attendance during the speech. From the PML-N this included party president and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former foreign minister Khawaja Asif, and party general secretary Ahsan Iqbal.
Among PPP leaders Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, former President Asif Ali Zardari were absent, whereas from the JUI Maulana Asad Mahmood was not in attendance.
However, Opposition leaders Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Abdul Qadir Patel were present in the House.
In addition, 96 members of the Opposition were present in the House during the prime minister’s speech.
“After 1970, all elections have been controversial,” said the prime minister at the start of his address, adding that the recently held by-polls and Senate elections were made controversial as well.
PM Imran Khan said the government had been mulling ways to make the elections acceptable to all the parties, and reminded the Opposition that election reforms would benefit democracy.
“The time has come to make the country’s elections acceptable to everyone,” he said, adding that in the US, when former president Trump had cast aspersions on the elections, their media and people demanded proof.
“We did the same in 2013. We had asked the then government to hold recounting in four constituencies, and in all four, rigging was proved.
“After trying our best […] we came to the conclusion that EVMs (electronic voting machines) are the only solution,” he said.
Lauding Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin and his team, the premier said they had presented the budget in line with his vision. “When we had begun our struggle 22 years back, we had one aim in mind: to build an Islamic welfare state — the objective of our founding fathers.”
The premier said if the country steps back from this aim, then there would be “no justification for Pakistan’s existence”.
PM Imran Khan said that the budget reflected the PTI’s three core principles — justice, humanity, and self-sufficiency — and lauded his financial team for ensuring the budget embodies all three.
‘Painful, tough decisions’
The premier said the government’s survival in its initial days was tough, as they had a huge current account deficit to deal with. “The initial days of our government were very troubling [….] it was very painful when we had to take tough decisions that had and continue to have consequences for the people.”
Giving the example of Turkey, he said when Recep Tayyip Erdogan had come into power, even his government took loans from the International Monetary Fund and had to face a tough time for three years.
PM Imran Khan thanked Pakistan’s allies — UAE, Saudi Arabia, and China — that had saved Pakistan from defaulting by providing loans.
Had we defaulted, he said, the investors would have pulled out their money from the country’s capital market. “We tried not to approach IMF, but eventually, we had to. Following that, the coronavirus emerged and battered an already struggling economy.”
On the occasion, the premier lauded National Command and Operations chief Asad Umar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, the Pakistan Army, and others involved in curbing the spread of coronavirus.
PM Imran Khan said Pakistan’s coronavirus situation was better as compared to countries in the region — and it was “due to Allah’s blessings and the poor people’s prayers”.
The premier said inflation and unemployment spiked in countries where lockdowns were imposed, however, “we did not shut down everything and thus saved the people from such ordeals”.
Agricultural yield boosted economy
Speaking about another challenge, the prime minister said locusts were attacking agricultural fields and the government’s machinery worked even on Eid days to get rid of them.
“We protected the crops, and as a result, there was record growth of wheat, rice, and corn,” the prime minister said, adding that the sugar mills made timely payments to the farmers, which helped them invest back into their fields.
“Unfortunately, we have not paid attention to the agricultural sector in the last few years,” he said.
“We also gave incentives to the export industry, and they grew by 17%,” he added.
The premier said the government tried to help the farmers be fully compensated. “When the farmers had money to invest, the wheels of economic growth began to turn and we saw a rise in growth rate.”
The premier said Pakistan’s exports hit a record $2.7 billion in June, and the country’s GDP reached 4% as the government took important steps to revive the economy after coronavirus battered it.
Bilawal vs Qureshi showdown
Before the prime minister’s speech, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi exchanged heated words during a noisy session of the NA.
After severely criticising the government over the provisions of budget 2021-22 and condemning the legislative process conducted on Tuesday, the PPP chairperson left the House.
“He spoke a lot about [parliamentary] procedures; I would also like to speak on procedures a bit,” said a passionate FM Qureshi after Bilawal and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had spoken.
“Where did he go after making his speech? I want him to return,” he added.
“I would like to ask Bilawal Bhutto to return to his seat; come back to the field and listen to us now,” the foreign minister stated.
The Opposition benches in the National Assembly broke into huge applause when the PPP chairperson, with another lawmaker by his side, returned to his seat.
Later, a war of words erupted between the two leaders when Bhutto took a dig at the foreign minister.
“I would like to request the prime minister to order the ISI to tap Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s phone,” taunted Bhutto. “When he used to be our foreign minister, he ran a campaign around the world to have him be the prime minister, instead of Yousaf Raza Gillani,” he added.
“That is why we sacked him from the post of foreign minister,” added the PPP leader.
The foreign minister responded to the PPP leader’s accusations, telling him that he also knew Bhutto “since he was a little kid”.
