ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday said that former prime minister Imran Khan was responsible for the countrywide increase in load-shedding and rising inflation.
Talking to reporters outside Accountability Court, he said the current energy crisis in the country had not been created by the present government.
“We had stated during last November and December that the country will face the worse gas crisis in summer,” he said, adding there would have been no gas crisis in the country had the PTI government signed long-term agreements for LNG.
“The previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government failed to sign long-term contracts for LNG procurement when it was available at cheap rates,” he said.
He said the PTI government politicized the procurement of gas, and power plants with over 3,500MW capacity were shut due to no gas causing rampant load-shedding. The country has no gas to produce electricity, he said, adding the process for gas procurements always started seven to six months in advance as gas could not be purchased over the counter in the world.
Iqbal said the present government was working tirelessly to reduce the difficulties of the masses.
To a question, he said the foreign funding case against Imran Khan had proved that Khan was doing politics on the instructions of foreign powers and donors aimed to destroy the country’s institutions. He said the PTI chief thinks that through criticizing the country’s institutions including the army, the judiciary and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), he would get a decision of his choice.
He further said Khan was criticizing the ECP as the commission would decide the foreign funding case against him. He hoped that the ECP would not get intimidated from the threats hurled by Khan and decide the case on merit.
The planning minister said Khan’s next power shows would fail, just like the long march.
When he was asked about the return of the former finance minister, Ishaq Dar, he said if Dar returned to the country it would strengthen our economic team as well as our parliamentary power.
“In the current economic crisis faced by the country we need to work as a team,” he said. Earlier, he and other accused appeared before Accountability Court-III judge Syed Asghar Ali n the Narowal Sport City Complex Project (NSCCP) case.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Wasim Javed and Zulfiqar, counsel for Ahsan Iqbal as well as counsel for the accused appeared before the court.
The court adjourned hearing of the case till September 5 due to the pendency of petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the dismissal of the acquittal application of the accused, Ahsan Iqbal.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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