- Describes expensive electricity, and price hike as bitter pills to be taken for two to three years
- Stresses instead of branding each other as thieves, we have to work jointly for Pakistan
LAHORE: Federal Minister for Planning and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday said the sit-in and long march pushed the country to uncertainty.
Talking to media at the welcome reception for Pakistan’s Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem in Lahore, Ahsan Iqbal said that no policy was allowed to stay in the country for more than three to four years.
“What we are lacking is the political stability,” he said. “Instead of branding each other as thief and dacoit, we have to work jointly for Pakistan,” federal minister emphasized.
“Today a man has been imprisoned in the same cell in Adiala Jail, where I was kept,” he said.
He said, expensive electricity and price hike are bitter pills to be taken for two to three years. “It is bitter recipe of the IMF, the country would have bankrupted, if we didn’t apply for the loan from the IMF,” PML-N leader said.
The minister said the agriculture could play a pivotal role in guiding Pakistan out of the dire straits.
Judges, generals blamed for imposing an ‘amateur’ leader on Pakistan
Later in the day, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal accused a group of judges and military generals of derailing Pakistan’s progress by imposing an “inexperienced” leader on the country.
Speaking to the media at the Expo Centre in Lahore, Iqbal said, “Pakistan was on the development path when a few judges and generals imposed an amateur on the country.”
The federal minister made these remarks referring to the beleaguered and incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.
Iqbal emphasized the potential of Pakistan’s agricultural sector, stating that billions of dollars could be added to the nation’s resources through agricultural exports.
“Pakistan is a country with immense potential in every sector. If we are to move forward, we must increase our exports,” he noted.
He drew a parallel with the recent historic achievements of Pakistani athlete Arshad Nadeem in the Paris Olympics 2024, saying, “We must progress just as Arshad Nadeem raised the flag of Pakistan”.
“His story teaches us that success is possible even with limited resources.”
Iqbal further remarked, “If Arshad Nadeem can win a gold medal, why can’t this resource-rich country achieve the ‘gold medal’ in development?
Last night, Arshad Nadeem’s father told me, ‘I have raised my children on halal earnings.'”
Reflecting on the challenges Pakistan has faced, he added, “A lot has happened to Pakistan—sit-ins, long marches, and court decisions have put us in difficult situation”.
“Pakistan was on the path to progress until a few judges and generals imposed an inexperienced leader on us”.
