Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday responded to the criticism of the Opposition parties regarding the rising inflation in the country and said that the situation has occurred because of the previous government.
“Inflation in the country is a gift from former rulers,” Qureshi said while addressing a corner meeting in Multan.
Taking a jibe at the PML-N, the foreign minister added that those who chanted the slogan of honouring the vote violated the honour of the voters.
He said that for the last 30 years, PPP and PML-N looted the national exchequer, while the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is a “gang of looters.”
“How can they talk about accountability when they are thieves themselves?” the federal minister questioned.
Qureshi went on to say that the PDM has been “following the formula of making noise” but it is ignoring the fact that this inflation was a gift given by the former rulers.
He said that economic hardships were temporary as the government was trying its best to strengthen country’s economy.
The foreign minister stated the government was well aware of difficulties and problems of the masses. “Poverty alleviation is top priority of the incumbent government,” he mentioned.
Ehsas Programme, Health Card Scheme and some other policies of the incumbent government would surely help reduce poverty and provide maximum relief to the poor people, said Qureshi.
The country was heading towards industrial development which would surely help in providing more jobs to the unemployed persons besides strengthening the national economy, added Qureshi.
The incumbent government, however, committed to hold looters accountable, whether they belong to any political party or group.
Qureshi observed that the corrupt persons would have to face indiscriminate accountability process. The foreign minister said that economic diplomacy was launched to attract foreign investment.
Instructions have been issued to diplomatic missions abroad to bring the investors to Pakistan from across the globe.“Pakistan is an attractive country for investment. The more foreign investment we have, the more employment opportunities there will be,” stated FM Qureshi.
