Geneva pledges will help rupee appreciate against dollar: Rana Sanaullah

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Tuesday that financial pledges secured by the government of Pakistan at the ‘International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan’ in Geneva will help rupee recover against the US dollar, reduce inflation and restore the confidence of the public.

Addressing a press conference, he said that the commitments made by foreign countries for Pakistan will reduce the popularity of the opposition as well.

In the Geneva conference on Monday, Pakistan secured pledges of over $10 billion for flood rehabilitation and reconstruction.

EU pledged $93 million, Germany $88 million, China $100 million, IDB $4.2 billion, World Bank $2 billion, Japan $77 million, ADB $1.5 billion, USAID $100 million, France $345 million.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia committed $1 billion and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank pledged $1 billion as well.

Rana Sanaullah expected the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its allies to also win the general elections and cited that the “foundation stone to this victory was placed on Monday.”

Speaking about the vote of confidence against Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi, he said, “They don’t have the numbers required to win the vote of confidence and they have banned my entry into the Punjab Assembly which is completely unconstitutional.”

“We are parliamentarians and we can come and go in the assembly,” he said.

Later during the day, PML-N lawmakers stormed the Punjab Assembly and clashed with the police as the controversy around a vote of confidence for Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi continued, reported Aaj News.

Establishment doesn’t appear to be neutral in Elahi’s vote of confidence: Imran Khan

The doors of the assembly were closed and security guards remained on high alert after there was a ruckus on Monday during which the opposition challenged the provincial chief minister to prove that he has the requisite numbers to win a vote of confidence.

On Monday, former finance minister and PTI leader Asad Umar said that the party had the required numbers for Chief Minister Parvez Elahi’s vote of confidence, Aaj News reported.

“You all witnessed that the government proved its strength in today’s session of the Punjab Assembly. We will not require the opposition’s votes to prove our majority in the house,” Asad Umar said while speaking to media outside the provincial assembly.

His comments came amid reports that the PTI and the PML-Q had decided against holding the vote of confidence in Monday’s session, backtracking their earlier claims.