PM Shehbaz says govt to hand over country's affairs to caretaker setup in August

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Thursday the government would hand over the country’s affairs to a caretaker arrangement in August after completing its tenure, Aaj News reported.

He made these remarks a day after Pakistan reached a $3 billion Standby Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The cash-starved nation received the first tranche of $1.2 billion earlier today.

As the premier began his speech, he lambasted the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for breaking the IMF deal for political gains and jeopardising the country’s reputation.

He thanked China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for assisting Pakistan in its tough times.

He hailed the efforts of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for securing the funding from brotherly countries.

PM Shehbaz said he took up the “sacred responsibility” of running the country as the prime minister and working for its welfare.

“We faced several challenges and hardships but steered the country out of deep waters and put its economy back on track,” he said, adding that in just 15 months, the government cleaned the “rubble of destruction” caused in the last four years.

Current govt’s tenure to end on August 14: PM Shehbaz

“We cleaned the landmines spread in the way of Pakistan’s interests” and “doused the fire” that erupted because of mismanagement, inefficiency, and conspiracy in running the country’s affairs, including the economy and foreign affairs, the PM said.

“This brief 1.5-year period was a journey from the darkness of hopelessness to the light of hope … it was the beginning of gaining something after losing everything … it was a journey of returning towards development from anarchy and chaos.”

PM Shehbaz recalled that during the past few months, the government “sacrificed political capital to protect the state”.

“We did not worry about our vote bank but worried about the consistent increase in the State Bank of Pakistan,” he added.