No return to NRO era, Imran says
CRISIS AVERTED BECAUSE OF SAUDI SUPPORT PACKAGE, PM TELLS NATION
Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a televised address to the nation yesterday, said there would be no National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) as was offered in the past by General Pervez Musharraf to the opposition parties Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
There will be no Musharraf-like compromise, or NRO, as the former ruler was politically weak and had vested interests, Khan said in the 20-minute address.
Khan, who returned from Saudi Arabia after attending an international investment conference, shared the “good news” with the Pakistani people, saying an economic crisis had been averted because of the support package from Saudi Arabia.
The premier thanked the Saudi government for generously agreeing to provide loans worth billions of dollars on easy terms.
“Now, with the instant relief from the Saudis, it will be easy for us to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund on a strong footing,” he said.
Hard decisions
He also broke the news of Saudi Arabia’s agreeing to Pakistan’s role as mediator between the kingdom and Iranbacked Al Houthis in Yemen.
The PM assured Pakistan that the government was fully aware of the challenges the nation was facing and promised the difficult times would be over soon. Hard decisions are being taken for long-term relief, he assured.
“What we inherited from the previous government is an unending tale of poor governance, huge loans, kickbacks and corruption,” Imran said.
“We have taken the responsibility on ourselves to clear all that mess and for that purpose, we have to take hard steps,” he added.
Giving the example of cancer patients, Khan said when cancer is removed from the body, it causes pain, but once it is removed the body is cured and purged of the disease.
Khan promised further good news for the people, saying the government was in talks with a number of countries, and something good would soon come out of that.
He also promised a complete package for the poor, saying “we are launching ‘safety net’ for the poor.”
The leader asked the public for one thing: patience in the initial difficult phase, saying almost every department and public sector organisation was in poor shape due to the corrupt practices of the past leaders.
He reminded the opposition parties, which are joining hands against the government, that he had ordered the audit of the Rs30,000 billion loan their government got.
Once their corruption is exposed, the anti-corruption forces will take action against them, he said.