ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday said that he believed in “honest” conversation with the nation and expressed his resolve to continue to provide relief to the masses.
The prime minister made these remarks a day after announcing a major cut in the prices of petroleum products, passing on the relief of a decline in oil prices in the international market.
The prime minister last night announced a cut of Rs 18.50 in the price of petrol and Rs 40.54 in the price of diesel in his address to the nation.
In a tweet today, he said: “In line with my commitment to the nation, the coalition government has been swift to transfer the benefit of reduction in oil prices to the masses.”
“We will continue to provide relief as soon as we have a financial cushion to do so. I believe in honest conversation with the nation,” PM Shahbaz said.
In his address to the nation last night, PM Shahbaz held the previous government responsible for all of the country’s economic woes and expressed the determination of his government to put it on the path of economic development and prosperity over the next 14 months.
The prime minister said that the present government will focus on three vital areas of the economy: agriculture, information technology (IT) and export-based industries in the coming months.
He said a few months ago, when his government assumed responsibility, it inherited a broken economy.
Inflation was at its “highest” and oil in the international market was “touching the sky”, he said, adding that the former government of Imran Khan signed an agreement with International Monetary Fund (IMF) with “tough conditions” and then before its ouster, “violated the agreement and laid landmines for the incoming government”.
The government of Imran Khan while suddenly decreasing oil prices before its removal, “did not make any additional allocation for the reduction in the budget,” he added.
He (Imran) did so “to cause economic difficulties” for the new government, he said.
PM Shehbaz said “with a heavy heart, earlier, we had to raise the price of oil due to a hike in the international market”.
He said the oil price hike was a burden for the common man but his government had “no other option”.
The prime minister said that there were nations in the world which 25 years back signed their last agreement with the IMF and then they ventured on a new path and stood on their own feet with hard work and put in their sweat and blood.
“I want this to be the last agreement with the IMF and after that, we should move towards self-sufficiency and stand on our own feet with dignity and honour.”
He said the path to self-sufficiency was “not an easy one and was laid with thorns” but the nation can achieve the goal with hard work and sincerity.
