ISLAMABAD: PTI General-Secretary and former finance minister Asad Umar on Thursday advised Shehbaz Sharif’s government to immediately call elections as it was the best way to save the country’s “rapidly deteriorating” economy.
Talking to the media he said: “just days after Imran Khan left, India was back at its demands of ‘do more, and now the IMF is doing the same.” The PTI general secretary predicted that the dollar would further soar and the rupee would devalue because of the same reason.
Replying to a question on new general elections, he said that general elections is the best way to forward. “This is not just what Imran Khan wants but it’s also the mandate of the entire population of Pakistan,” he told journalists.
“I’m telling you … If the government wants to take a smart and politically sound decision, it has to call elections.
“Because the way the economy is weakening, there’s a ‘do more’ pressure on them,” Umar said, lamenting that by taking any other decision in these “critical circumstances”, the government would head towards its doom.
The former minister also said that the “imported government” seemed to be unhappy with the pace of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
He said that CPEC saw the most extensive development when PTI was in power. “How will CPEC or the economy work under this uncertainty. I know for sure that this government won’t be able to stay longer than a few months,” he added.
He said that if the government wanted to save the economy, it had to step into the field and face Imran Khan. “Let the public choose who they want to stand with.”
Talking about PTI’s Lahore rally tonight, Umar claimed that it would “break all records” and advised supporters to leave for the venue early because of possible traffic jams.
