The Prime Minister has once again rejected the idea of holding early elections.
Shehbaz maintains that the coalition government came to power in accordance with the constitution and has the support of the people.
ISTANBUL: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has once again disregarded the demand made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for early elections. Sharif has stated that the current National Assembly will finish its term in August of the following year, after which an interim government will hold general elections.
Shehbaz told the Turkiye-based Anadolu Agency that the elections “will be held on schedule,” and he emphasised that the current government came to power through a constitutional process and enjoyed the mandate of the people of Pakistan. Shehbaz’s comments were made during an interview.
Shehbaz stated that his government had adopted a “mix of policies to tackle the economic downturn by accepting the fact that “we have a very short time” to pull back from the edge of bankruptcy and financial collapse. Shehbaz was referring to the fact that “we have a very short time” to pull back from the brink of bankruptcy and financial collapse.
“Let me make it completely apparent that the next elections will be held on time,” he added. “Let me make it clear that the next elections will be held on time.” According to his explanation, “the current term of the National Assembly will finish in August 2023, which would be followed by the installation of an interim government that will hold elections.”
In response to a question concerning his predecessor and Imran Khan’s desire for early elections, he stated that “this government came into being through a constitutional process and enjoys the mandate of the people of Pakistan.” He was referring to how the previous government came into power.
According to Shehbaz, the current coalition administration has “representative of all political parties of the country, with the exception of the PTI, and is actively dealing with topics of major importance.”
According to the Prime Minister, the economic policies of the previous government, which was led by Imran Khan, were not growth-friendly, and as a result, they led the country to many issues. He went on to say that when he took office, the economy was “on the point of” collapsing and was facing a number of issues both internationally and within the country.
‘Excessive monetary tightening’,’supply-side shocks,’ ‘lingering pandemic effects,’ ‘waning investor confidence,’ ‘high inflation,’ and ‘the effects of the Russia-Ukraine crisis’ are some of the challenges that the economy of Pakistan is facing, according to him. He went on to say that his government had implemented corrective actions, some of which, he confessed, had unintended consequences.
“There is no question that several of our policy measures, such as the removal of untargeted subsidies, had contributed to an increase in the cost in the short-term. The majority of our programmes, on the other hand, are more likely to give advantages in the more distant future, as the prime minister put it.
We accepted the risk of making these judgments by reversing the untargeted subsidies, despite the fact that making such a difficult decision needed a significant amount of political capital. “We are also mindful of the fact that our current course of action is hurting the most vulnerable and marginalised members of society,” he said. “This is something that we are quite conscious of.”
Nevertheless, he continued in the same sentence by saying, “But we are taking care of them [the most disadvantaged and marginalised parts of society] by announcing targeted subsidies and other relief measures.” He emphasised that the burden had been relieved thanks to a “active engagement with bilateral and multilateral partners.”
He mentioned that in order to address the economy, his government had taken steps to lower the current account deficit, the import bill, and the pressure that was being placed on the Pakistani rupee. During the first four months of the 2023 fiscal year, the “steady drop in imports” contributed to an improvement in the country’s current account deficit, as he mentioned earlier.
Relations with other countries
It was emphasised by Prime Minister Shehbaz that inter-state ties should be “based on mutual respect.” He stated that “our historic and broad-based relationship” with the United States was “dedicated to deepening and widening,” and that Pakistan and China “would continue to exert vigilance to guarantee that our detractors’ plans” failed to materialise.
“In the most recent months, contact between both countries [Pakistan and the US] has been fairly fruitful and substantial. “Our contacts with one another on a variety of levels have become more robust, which is manifesting itself in the fact that the relationship is growing stronger,” he stated.
Shehbaz said that there had been “several high-level visits including congressional delegations and by members of the [US] administration,” which had “yielded positive results” and had helped to strengthen the bilateral ties. Shehbaz was recalling a recent interaction that he had with the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, in New York.
According to what he said, “Pakistan is closely engaging with the United States to create peace and stability in Afghanistan.” “Friendliness and goodwill toward other countries” is the overarching theme of Pakistan’s foreign policy, which it is actively pursuing. He continued by saying that Pakistan has a strong faith in the peaceful resolution of disputes via the upholding of the ideals of the UN Charter and international law.
When Shehbaz was asked about striking a balance between Pakistan’s relations with the United States and China, he emphasised that Pakistan had traditionally kept strong relations with both countries. “While the relationship between Pakistan and China is quite unique, Pakistan and the United States have also maintained wide-ranging relationships that include all of the areas that are of mutual importance to both countries.”
He stated to the interviewer that his most recent discussions with the leadership of China took place in Beijing, and that these sessions “injected a fresh energy in the collaborative efforts to assure timely completion and implementation of significant projects.”
According to him, significant understandings were achieved about the progression of major projects.
According to the Prime Minister, “We also decided to boost up collaboration in green energy, research and technology, and agriculture,” all of which are crucial building blocks for the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
When asked whether the resolution of the Kashmir dispute remained a condition for resuming normal ties between Islamabad and Delhi, Shehbaz said that for “complete normalisation,” India must “reverse its actions” of August 5, 2019, in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. This statement was made in response to the question of whether the resolution of the Kashmir dispute remained a condition for resuming normal ties.
According to what he said, “we want good relations with all of our neighbours, including India.” “However, we are firmly of the belief that a lasting peace cannot be achieved without a just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.”
The Prime Minister of India stated that the “illegal and unilateral actions” that took place on August 5, 2019, as well as the subsequent steps in IIOJK, “have further vitiated the environment.” He also stated that “the onus remains on India to create a conducive environment for meaningful engagement.”
Shehbaz, who spent the weekend in Turkey, emphasised the importance of Islamabad and Ankara working together through the conduct of joint research and the pooling of resources because the two countries were facing similar challenges and new threats. He stated that the two countries share similar perspectives on a variety of local, regional, and international issues.
