TAXILA: Former interior minister and disgruntled Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Sunday that the country was moving towards a “debt trap”.

Talking to journalists, he said the future of Pakistan would be bleak if its economy was run through loans, adding the country needed years to get rid of these loans and to achieve these goals there was dire need of political stability in the country responsibility for which rested with the government.

In reply to a question, Mr Khan said that the Financial Action Task Force was apparently a political institution adding that some international powers were hatching conspiracies to blacklist Pakistan for their own interests and that had nothing to do with terrorism or terror financing.

Former interior minister asks govt to ensure political stability

In reply to a question about recent steps taken by the current government regarding crackdown against some religious groups and taking control of some seminaries, he said the government’s actions were dubious as on the one hand it claimed there was no non-state actors involved in the Pulwama attack or other activities and on the other hand it had launched a crackdown against some religious groups and was taking control of some seminaries.

He urged political leaders to restrain from delivering such statements which weakened Pakistan’s stance on international forums just for some political gains.

In reply to a question about leaving the PML-N or joining another party, he said he would make a decision in this regard at an “appropriate time”.

The PML-N leader said that he was in contact with the PTI but said that he would announce his future political strategy at an appropriate time in consultation with his supporters.

“I stood with a party for 35 long years and then moved away from its leadership after developing some differences over certain issues. The people of my constituency have reposed their confidence in me but the current situation is a bit complex,” he said.

He said the country would witness in the next six months a massive price hike because of increase in the prices of POL and gas.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2019