- Former premier says there was no price hike in 2017.
- “PML-N govt kept US dollar pegged at Rs104 for 4 years.”
- Nawaz says he feels people’s pain over rising costs of living.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif has attributed the skyrocketing cost of living to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, saying that it was the Imran Khan-led regime that brought the International Monetary Fund (IMF) back to the country.
Addressing a press conference flanked by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in Lahore on Friday, the three-time prime minister said that the issue of price hike commenced in the PTI government, adding that he knows about the pain the people of Pakistan are going through.
The PML-N’s top leader said he recalls the time in 2017 when there was no price hike issue with people living an easy and comfortable life, adding that he became premier in 2013, his government worked on the economy, making it one of the world’s best-performing economies.
At that time, the world praised the country for its emerging economy, as the PML-N-led government took the US dollar to Rs95, Nawaz said. “However, the government had to keep the greenback pegged at Rs104 for the next four years owing to exports and some other issues.”
The greenback would have been pegged at Rs104 if he had stayed in power, he added.
Earlier, he started his speech by saying that he was evicted from the PM Office because he did not draw a salary from his son, a matter which he called “a joke”.
“Was this a justifiable reason for de-seating an incumbent prime minister?” he asked.
The PML-N government, he also said, is not behind the current price hike, adding that the world reacted to Pakistan’s growth, saying the country has rid itself of the IMF grip. “Who brought the IMF back to Pakistan is the same person [Imran Khan] who is currently speaking from jail “
The PML-N top leader said that he put an end to the load-shedding before the termination of his five-year term. “We surmounted the power crisis in three years,” he said, adding that the power bill of a common man was Rs1,600 in 2017 which has now surged to Rs18,000.
He added that the bank’s interest rate was around 5% during his tenure however, it went up to 22% under the PTI’s rule.
The N League supremo, patting the shoulder of Maryam Nawaz, thanked her that she slashed flour prices when she assumed power in the province.
The Punjab government has prepared a relief package by cutting the power tariff by Rs14 per unit for people consuming up to 500 units of electricity, Nawaz said. “The relief will be given in the bills of August and September. “
He added that the provincial government had slashed its development fund to provide the relief in utility bills.
