FAISALABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Sunday claimed that Pakistan would overcome the ongoing economic crisis within two years if another “October 12” — a reference to the 1999 military coup — was not imposed.
The ruling PML-N senior leader made the remarks while addressing a ceremony in Faisalabad today that was held to distribute Minority Cards among religious minorities of Punjab.
On October 12, then-army chief General Pervaiz Musharraf dissolved the parliament and ousted then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup.
Speaking on the occasion, the PML-N leader said: “In 1999, Pakistan was making progress on a fast track under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif but the incident of October 12 occurred and the country plunged into unprecedented terrorism and load-shedding.”
The PM’s aide said that in 2013, people again voted for Nawaz and he overcame issues and put the country on the track to development again.
“The dollar rate was about Rs106, petrol Rs65 and growth rate was 6.2% but in 2017 a deep-rooted conspiracy was hatched and a project was launched by ousting the PML-N government,” he added.
Sanaullah said the new experiment resulted in an unprecedented price hike and inflation in addition to pushing the country to the brink of bankruptcy.
He said that the government was also actively working to reduce inflation which has already dropped from 40% to 4% while more steps are being taken to further reduce it.
The government has put the country on the right track and it would surely emerge as a strong economy of the world after a couple of years if the progress pace continued and no incident like October 12 occurred again, he added.
Referring to the ouster of prime minister Imran Khan from power in April 2022, the PML-N leader said that the country was facing multifaceted crises and people were leading a very miserable life when the PML-N moved a “no-confidence motion” and saved the country from default.
Moving on to the financial difficulties being faced by the country, he said: “Federal government under the leadership of PM Shehbaz and Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) led by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir” were making all-out efforts to put the country’s economy on the right track.
The government, under the visionary leadership of PM Shehbaz, put the country on the road to progress and prosperity after saving it from default and it would emerge as a strong economy after a couple of years if the pace of national development continued, he said.
“If truth be told,” Sanaullah said three pillars of the state have lost their significance, adding that only the fourth pillar, the media, will lead the country forward.
He said that the minorities are an integral part of Pakistan as they always played a dynamic role in national development and the government would ensure unity and equality across the country.
He, however, urged the people especially minorities to ignore negative propaganda and support the government’s efforts to create an inclusive and prosperous Pakistan for all.
— With additional input from APP
