ISLAMABAD: The caretaker setup would be in place following the completion of the five-year term of the present National Assembly next month, outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Thursday.
In his televised address to the nation, the PM claimed that his coalition government “successfully managed to put the country in the right direction in the shortest period despite challenges and conspiracies hatched by the opponents.”
“I was assigned the sacred responsibility of running the affairs of this country in April last year—We will hand over this responsibility in August 2023 to the caretaker government,” he said.
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The PM said, the coalition government, in a “short span of just 14 months, did not leave any stone unturned to provide employment to the youth and relief to the people against the rising inflation in the country.”
“This journey was marked with transition from darkness to progress,” he said.
“The current coalition government is one of its kind in the history of Pakistan, which accepted big challenges and put the country in the right direction, despite difficulties,” Sharif claimed.
He said the coalition partners preferred to save interests of the state by putting their political objectives at stake.
“We successfully foiled conspiracies of the anti-state elements and managed to revive the IMF programme,” PM Sharif claimed. He especially thanked China, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates for their “timely cooperation and help in this critical time.”
“The last regime had brought the country to the brink of default by deviating from that agreement,” he alleged.
The outgoing PM further remarked, “Ironically, the political opponents remained busy in hatching conspiracies and creating hurdles while the coalition government was trying to resume the programme. The incumbent government had to face the biggest challenges and conspiracies in Pakistan’s democratic history in the shortest period, and steered it out of the deep crisis,” he claimed.
“We compromised our dignity by taking loans. It’s high time we break the begging bowl and start working hard,” PM Sharif commented.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023