ISLAMABAD: The economic expert of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Shaukat Tarin, on Saturday accepted a challenge made by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for holding a live debate to determine who pushed the country into an economic quagmire as both sides could be seen blaming each other for the worsening economic condition of the country.
Tarin said: “We accept the challenge and also invite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to hold a live debate with Imran Khan”.
He also said that Dar should give answers to his questions first, adding the PML-N leader should avoid making such tall claims for petty political gains.
Tarin reiterated that the performance of the PTI government was clearly mentioned in the Economic Survey of Pakistan, adding Dar could not achieve anything after returning home despite tall claims last year.
Tarin raises the alarm about inflation surge
He maintained that the government would take the power tariffs to Rs50 per unit and increase petroleum prices to meet the demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will set off a huge economic crisis in the country.
“So, I challenge Dar to come for a debate with me, and I’ll tell him what he’s done to the economy of the country within a short span of nine months,” he declared.
A day ago, Dar contradicted PTI chairman Imran Khan’s statement about the sorry state of the economy, saying he was ready for a live debate on the economy with Khan if he was sure about the economic growth during his party government.
“During our previous government, international rating agencies were predicting Pakistan to join the G-20 by 2030,” claimed Dar, as PTI insists it inherited a fragile economy back in 2018.
The minister said that Imran Khan’s speech was full of lies and the latter presented concocted false economic figures of the current government, which were not based on facts.
He continued that today’s economic crisis and inflation were due to the flawed economic policies of Imran Khan’s government, adding: “we had a choice to save the country or our politics, but we sacrificed politics for the sake of the country”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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