PM sees next three months crucial for govt

Imran Khan says his relationship with military is exemplary, stresses govt needs to control inflation within three months

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that the next three months were very important for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, stressing that the government needed to control inflation in the said period.

In an interview, the prime minister said that his relationship with the military was “exemplary”. He added that he had not thought about another extension in the tenure of army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa as it would be decided in November 2022.

The premier went on to say if the opposition wants to table a motion of no-confidence against the government, “they can do so”. “I do not feel threatened by corrupt parties,” he reiterated. He was of the view that together with the allies, the incumbent government will complete its five-year tenure. Speaking about the recently held local bodies elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the premier said that the “PTI has suffered because of the defeat in the polls”. The premier was of the view that the defeat of the PTI was a major failure at the organisational level; however, he reiterated that the party’s vote bank has not decreased.

Highlighting the flaws of the government, he said that the biggest failure of the government was the lack of accountability.

Separately, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Thursday that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had announced its advisory councils for different regions, including Punjab, Sindh and others. The announcement was made during the meeting of PTI’s Central Executive Committee, he said while addressing a news conference.

“Except Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI has announced its executive and advisory boards in all provinces,” he said. Fawad said Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib had been appointed as the PTI’s information secretary and Siraj Khan as finance secretary.

The prime minister, he added, also directed the party leadership to start preparations for local government elections in Punjab. “We are reaching out to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to build a consensus for bringing amendment to the (election) code of conduct,” he said, adding, “The prime minister, ministers and assembly members should be allowed to participate in the election campaign.”

The government, he said, would ensure transparent local body polls in Punjab. The minister went on to say that a comprehensive plan was underway to control inflation. “The National Assembly session had been summoned on January 10 and it is expected that the amended finance bill and a law pertaining to the State Bank of Pakistan would sail through it.”

The minister said all the economic indicators, including growth rate, were on an upward trajectory in the country. “Not only the country was politically strong, but its economy was also stable,” he claimed.

Reacting to the ECP report on PTI’s overseas funding, the minister said that PTI was the only party in the country, which kept system of its funding fully organized. It had not only documented its funding efficiently but also submitted its complete record to the ECP, he added.

The minister alleged that the PML-N made suspicious transactions worth Rs270 million through a local bank account. “An entry of Rs30 million was made in the name of Bawan Das, while a person namely Hanif Khan deposited an amount of Rs45 million in the PML-N account, which was later transferred by Nawaz Sharif to his own account,” he said.

Responding to separate press conferences of Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Zardari, he said that the politics of their families had come to an end.