Imran expresses confidence on the Rawalpindi test match.
In Karachi, the head of the PTI speaks at an economic conference after meeting with the UK high commissioner and the chairman of the PCB.
screengrab from the meeting between the British High Commissioner and the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board in Lahore
PTI president receives a call from the British high commissioner and the chairman of the PCB in Lahore. SCREENGRAB
LAHORE:
Imran Khan, Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), gave assurances to the British High Commissioner Christian Turner and to Ramiz Raja, Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), that his party’s ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ [real freedom] March would not interfere with the first cricket test between Pakistan and England, which was scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi.
At Imran’s home in Zaman Park, Turner and Raja had a chance encounter. During the long march that took place in Wazirabad on November 3, they expressed their concern for the former prime minister’s health and criticised the gun attack that took place on him. In addition to that, they talked about topics that were of interest to both of them.
Imran has issued a rallying cry for all of his fans to assemble in Rawalpinidi on the upcoming Saturday. After a break of 17 years, the England cricket team is scheduled to arrive in the nation’s capital the next day in order to begin the Test series against Pakistan. The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will be the location of the first test match, which will begin on December 1.
Imran gave his word that the Rawalpindi Test will go on as planned notwithstanding the PTI long march. Imran assured the British high commissioner and the chairman of the PCB that there would be no disruption to the Pindi Test as a result of their relocation. “You continue the preparations,” Imran said to both of them.
Separately, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spoke via video link at a seminar in Karachi that was held by the PTI’s economic cell to discuss the state of the economy and the issues it faces. During his speech, Imran voiced his support for the implementation of a presidential system of administration in the country. Imran asserted that the presidential system possesses a degree of predictability.
Imran added that the situation was really severe when the PTI came to power in 2018, and that the first year of the government was quite challenging when he was speaking about the economic issues that are currently affecting the country. The continued existence of the country would have been in jeopardy in the event that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates did not work together.
The chairman of the PTI continued by saying that next came the coronavirus, which caused the countries of Europe to go into lockdown. “However, we did not engage in this practise (lockdown) in Pakistan. The question that he posed was, “What would have happened to the daily wage earners if there had been a lockdown?” We were able to boost employment prospects by providing the construction industry with financial incentives.
According to the former prime minister, the country’s economy began to suffer in the 1990s because of the two families who were responsible for governing the country at that time. “Until there is political stability, not even the brightest minds will be able to save the economy. It is impossible for there to be political stability in the country before elections are held, he went on to say.
He emphasised that the presidential system gave stability and said that until the rule of law was enhanced in the country, good governance could not be formed in the country. He said that the presidential system provided stability. “There are mafias everywhere, and the most powerful one is the real estate mafia; you cannot imagine what kind of influence they have, can you?”
Only in Islamabad, according to Imran, government land has been appropriated to the tune of Rs 1,200 billion. “We sought to raise taxes via technology, but those sitting inside were opposed to the idea. Imran emphasised that the PTI did not need to launch an election campaign since the party will come to power regardless of whether or not it undertook a campaign.
Imran offered a number of suggestions for actions that may be taken to improve the current economic condition. “Every [important] person needs to focus on bringing cash into the country,” he added, adding that the approximately 10 million Pakistanis who are now living outside of the country should be offered opportunities to invest.
In addition, he proposed policies that would limit amnesty to people who have invested in the business in order to “whiten” their illegal funds. The previous prime minister shared with the attendees of the conference that he believed there was significant untapped potential in a variety of economic fields, one of which being tourism.
Imran reiterated his proposal for acquiring oil from Russia, which could be done at much reduced costs at the time. We ought to have gotten our oil from Russia instead. We had the ability to persuade the Americans to purchase the discounted oil. During his presentation, Imran also emphasised the need of governments coming for a period of five years.
