Criticising the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), former Finance Minister Asad Umar Wednesday said that as many as four finance ministers were changed during the PPP''''s last tenure from 2008 to 2013. Umar, who is also Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, expressed these views on the floor of the National Assembly for the first time after he stepped down as the finance minister. He was responding to Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari''''s speech in the House, which the latter delivered on Tuesday last.
Umar said, "Bilawal has said that the government is incapable and a failure so I thought I should raise the curtains and unveil the truth behind the allegations." He said, "Bilawal Zardari, four finance ministers were changed during your government. One by one, all four brave finance ministers kept failing." Responding to the PPP chairman''''s criticism on the cabinet reshuffle who termed the PTI regime incompetent, Umar asked, "Were you the most incompetent?"
He said, "I never called Bilawal Bhutto Zardari a traitor. He alleged that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) destroyed economy." He said that there was 0.4 percent economic growth in the first year of Zardari government. He said that average economic growth rate was 2.8 percent in five-year tenure of the PPP government. There is no other government in the past with a growth rate of 2.8 percent, he added. He said, "The average inflation in the five-year tenure of the PPP''''s government was 12.3 percent and average budget deficit was 7 percent."
About Bilawal''''s concerns on rising debts, the former finance minister said, "During the PPP government, debt rose by 135 percent." While lashing out at the PPP, Umar said, "Today the accountability is being done of the corrupt who did corruption during your term."
About the issue of not meeting the targets set by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Umar said, "We are working over it. During PPP''''s five-year term, the FBR targets were reduced by 5 percent yearly." The PTI leader said, "The current government is confronted with a lot of big economic mafias. If you wish to represent the people then you will have to stand up against those mafias."
Umar said, "Truth should be spoken before the nation. There is no easy solution. Difficult decisions have been made and they will need to be made in future as well." "If the people see that everything will be fixed in future then they will accept the difficult decisions," he added. "We will have to come out of this crisis and we will," Umar said.
Later, Bilawal tweeted: "Former finance minister who was removed, because his own PM said he removed incompetent ministers, is now lecturing us about how PPP''''s economic policies were flawed. Obviously, Imran Khan doesn''''t agree as he appointed President Zardari''''s finance minister as incompetent Asad''''s replacement."
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