ISLAMABAD: The PPP leaders on Wednesday blamed the previous setup for economic woes that the country is currently facing.

Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Shazia Atta Marri was addressing a press conference along with PPP spokesperson Faisal Karim Kundi.

She said the country faced multiple issues due to ineffective and incompetent governance of Imran Khan.

She maintained that timely removal of the PTI government had saved the country from a disaster.

“Imran Khan and his team had played havoc with the country and now the era of oppression and a tyrant ruler has finished”, Ms Marri said, and added that the coalition government was striving hard to resolve the multiple issues being faced by the country.

She said the former PM Imran Khan was holding public meetings and spreading hatred and negative narrative against institutions.

“He believes that if he was not in the government, this country should not even exist,” the minister said, “Now he is trying to prove what he said he will be more dangerous when ousted from the government. He has actually become more dangerous for the country.”

She said Imran Khan had not even spared Masjid-i-Nabwi by trying to create unrest there.

The foreign funding case against Imran Khan has not been decided for the last eight years and he is saying that this case is based on a conspiracy. “Why Imran Khan asked Election Commission of Pakistan not to reveal its findings to the public”, she asked.

Responding to a question over resignations by the PTI MNAs including former speaker National Assembly, she said that they were all drawing salaries, availing allowances, retained official vehicle and even did not vacate the accommodation in Parliament Lodges.

“The PTI MNAs should support the coalition government for electoral reforms as they are availing all the privileges,” she added. While Faisal Karim Kundi said that relations of Pakistan was going to improve with United States, European Union and all the countries for which Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bilawal Bhutto was in the US at an official tour.

He said Imran Khan should highlight the performance of his government in the public gatherings instead of giving false statements.

He said that PTI chief was misusing the resources of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to attend the public gathering across the country, and he was demanding official security.

“But unfortunately Imran took back the security of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, Aftab Khan Sherpao and other political leadership which resulted in terror attacks on them,” Mr Kundi said.

He concluded that the next general elections will be held after electoral reforms and in consensus with coalition partners - not at the ambitions of Imran Khan.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2022