ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Secretary General, Ahsan Iqbal, on Monday, said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, is like a “newborn” in politics.

Talking to reporters after appearing before Accountability Court in Narowal Sport City Complex Project (NSCCP) scam against him and others, he said that “our political experience alone is as old as Bilawal”.

“He [Bilawal] has a long way to go [and]; therefore, would not like to comment on any of his statements,” he said, adding that Bilawal should not make such statements which might create problems for his party.

He further said that Bilawal would learn with the passage of time, adding the PPP has given life to the current system by not supporting the nine-member opposition parties’ alliance.

Referring to a statement by the Prime Minister that he needed judiciary’s support to end the menace of corruption, he questioned what sort of support he needed from the courts.

He said that the incumbent government destroyed the country’s economy, the foreign policy, and the law and order situation, and reiterated that devolution of rupee and increase in policy rate would further destroy the country’s economy.

Citing reports of some international organisations, he said that Pakistan has been trapped in loans, adding during its five years tenure, the PML-N had taken “productive loans”, while the present government obtained “non-productive loan” to bridge deficit.

“Our lenders can blackmail us, which may put the sovereignty of the country at stake,” he cautioned.

Iqbal said that our economic growth rate had fallen from 5.8 percent to negative due to the poor policies of the incumbent government.

“Now our fate will be decided by the clerks of the International Momentary Fund (IMF),” he lamented.

He regretted that the Prime Minister is still looking for a professional finance minister, despite, passage of three years of his government, adding this is the man who used to tell the nation that he would bring a “dynamic team of 200 people” to steer the country out of the prevalent economic crisis.

“The enemies of Pakistan could not do what Imran Niazi did in the last three years,” he flayed.

Iqbal demanded live coverage of corruption cases being heard by the courts against him, saying, we want the nation to know how much truth was there in these “concocted and fabricated” cases.

Earlier, he appeared before Accountability Court-III judge Syed Ali Ashgar in the NSCCP case against him and others.

The court marked his and other accused’s attendance but adjourned the hearing till April 20th without proceedings due to the Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

The defence counsel, Arshad Tabreez, told the court that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had ordered that only urgent cases would be heard till April 20th.

At this, the court adjourned the case without hearing.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021