Bilawal Bhutto slams Imran Khan govt for shifting inflation blame on IMF

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday slammed Imran Khan's government for shifting inflation blame on International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said that the Imran Khan government cannot cover its inefficiency by shifting the blame of inflation on the IMF, reported The Frontier Post.

Bilwal was responding to the claims of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, who said that the IMF forced Pakistan to increase interest rates and electricity prices that doubled the cost of debt servicing and pushed inflation upward.

On June 3, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin claimed that the IMF forced Pakistan to take certain steps that pushed inflation upward.

Bilawal asked, "If India could overcome inflation by 4.20 percent and Bangladesh could do the same by 5.54 percent, during the Covid pandemic, why was the ratio at 10.9 percent in Pakistan?"

He said that the government had put the sovereignty of the nation at stake by signing an agreement with the IMF on tough conditions, reported The Frontier Post.

He alleged, "The mafia working under Imran Khan's supervision raised the prices of chicken by 110 per cent in the past three months.

He said that a common man does not have money, criticising the premier for "planning to hand over billions to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers in the forthcoming budget", reported The Frontier Post.

He added, "Awarding Rs 96 billion to PTI lawmakers in the midst of the worst economic crisis is [an] anti-people [step]. Instead of handing out billions to those elected through rigging, the premier should spend money from the exchequer on people's welfare."

Bilawal stated that the government had remained unable to bring about its five-year economic plan. "If the PTI's policy is to plan the economy on the IMF's directions, then the premier should tell people openly that he came to power without any planning."

Earlier, Pakistan's opposition parties have slammed the federal government's announcement of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, estimating that it would hit 3.94 per cent for the fiscal year 2020-21.

( With inputs from ANI )