Political stability essential for a strong economy: Imran Khan

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has reiterated that political stability is indispensable for a strong economy, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

Addressing the party workers on the matter of white paper via video link here on Tuesday, he said the snap polls are the only solution for the present situation of the country.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf issued a white paper on the performance of the incumbent government. The PTI s white paper highlighted a comparison of prices of food items in the last nine months of the PDM government with the previous nine months of the PTI government, revealing that the prices of food items had increased alarmingly in the last nine months.

Imran Khan highlighting the significance of the fresh elections said that only polls will pull the country out of the quagmire, reiterating that without political stability there is no chance of economic prosperity. He again cited Sri Lanka, saying that the country was going through the same situation, lamenting that it was difficult for salaried people to survive under the circumstances.

Speaking about the next government, Imran Khan stated that the successor to the incumbent government should have come to power through a mandate.

He feared that approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will cause the country discomfort, adding that if the country received loans from the IMF, it will be difficult to make independent decisions.

The former premier taking a jibe at the Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) said two political families have plundered the country for 30 years. He slammed the coalition government, saying those involved in activities such as money laundering were now teaching the country a lesson.

The former prime Imran Khan was highly critical of the economic performance of his rivals. He said that the parties in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had derailed the country ever since he was ousted from power in April last year.

 Imran Khan also lashed out at the ruling alliance for making the wrong economic decisions while asserting that he had worked hard to steer the country towards economic stability and growth.

He expressed his concern over the current situation, saying that he feared the direction in which the country was going. He said that at least 700,000 people have left the country considering the present situation of the country.

PTI chief said there was a dire need to solve the problems of the exporters, claiming that the PML-N left the country in a historical deficit, questioning how the country can be transformed into an "Asian Tiger" and "Paris" for Lahore if exporters were not considered important.

The former premier gave a reference of the economic survey, saying that after 17 years, it was his government that delivered for the country with perfection. He has added 3.4 million new taxpayers to the tax network.   

Khan said that he came to know that it was decided in the PSC huddle to impose a ban on taking the greenback abroad.

He expressed concern about inflation, saying, "The prices of flour, onions, tomatoes, ghee, pulses, petroleum products, and power have increased by up to 200 percent."

He also said, 1.5 million people were left unemployed in the field of the textile sector, adding that in his tenure, there was a lack of availability of laborers in the textile sector.

The former premier also expressed his concern over the depreciation of the rupees against the US dollar. 

He lamented that the government, which was showing great performance, was toppled and thieves were imposed on the country.

Khan slammed the government once more, claiming that the incumbent government came to power by buying the people s conscience. He believed that the masses were against the coalition government.