Debt may double in next five years: Shahid Khaqan

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday said the Pakistan’s debt will double in the coming five years if receiving of debt continued with the same pace.

He said the government of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has failed on all fronts in first five months of its tenure and it had nothing in its credit except from giving false statements.

“The PTI government has done nothing except making tall claims and giving false statements,” the senior PML-N leader said while addressing a press conference, along with ex-finance minister Miftah Ismail and party’s spokesperson Maryam Aurengzeb.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi termed the planned presentation of second mini-budget by the PTI government a big failure of the government in arresting deteriorating condition of the economy.

“The national economy is facing serious threats as the government is set to procure record loans while foreign exchange reserves are going down and value of US dollar going up,” he said.

The former premier said the ministers of the PTI government neither have ability nor capacity to deliver, whereas they were also reluctant to work. “What they have been doing is character assassination of opposition leaders and levelling baseless allegations,” he said.

Shahid Khaqan said the opposition has already told the government as to what could be solution to the gas crisis.

“It is not difficult to address gas crisis, but the government has to take timely decision,” he said, adding that managing director has nothing to do with gas crisis.

He pointed out that it was agenda of the opposition to bring forth inability of the government, but they never used abusive language. He asked the government to tell reasons behind presentation of the new mini-budget, saying that the masses would no more bear burden of more taxes and price hike.

To a question about NRO, he said that it were dictators who used NRO as tool. “As per the Constitution, no prime minister can give NRO,” he said, adding that how an ex-prime minister, who appeared in 185 hearings, could request for NRO.

Abbasi said the issue of Exit Control List (ECL) has been made a drama and no rules were being followed while placing or removing names on the ECL.

“The government removes names of their friends from the ECL whenever they want,” he said. To another question, he said the military courts were established in the PML-N government’s tenure but the incumbent government should tell as to why it wanted extension in these courts. Abbasi said the election of the Senate chairman was illegal and unconstitutional. Miftah Ismail regretted that the growth of economy was going down while there had also been no increase in exports in first five months of the sitting government.

“Growth is moving towards negative level, second mini-budget is on the cards, and government is printing additional currency, while growth of private sector is also going down,” he said.