PTI saving billions belonging to nation: Faisal Javed

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Javed Khan on Wednesday said the new government is saving billions of rupees belonging to the nation.

"Next week, I will hold a press conference and reveal how much the previous governments used to spend and how much PTI is spending," he said while speaking to Geo News.

Further, in response to party MNA Aamir Liaquat Hussain's claim that he was part of the PTI's "forward bloc", Javed said the party has a "progressive bloc".

Javed clarified that it was not Hussain that people of the country's industrial hub voted for but Prime Minister Imran Khan — the party chairperson.

"Karachi voted for Imran Khan in both 2013's and 2018's general elections," the PTI member said, with a resounding laugh.

"Even if Imran Khan had nominated a pole instead of Aamir Liaquat, it would have won," he stressed, noting that the former TV personality "creates a hype about things" but that they would "convince him to come back on track".

"I don't understand why he would say such a thing," Javed stated, adding that Hussain would change his stance "in 24 hours".

He also spoke of how Hussain, a member of the National Assembly (MNA) elected from Karachi, had earlier said he wished to sit with Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, and make a speech.

The PTI MNA's behaviour was "very wrong if done so in order to be handed a ministry", Javed said, adding that he had "never asked for ministership despite being with Imran Khan for 22 years".

Hussain had emerged the victor in the NA 245 constituency, bagging 56,615 votes against the 35,247 votes of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's (MQM-P) Dr Farooq Sattar.

On the other hand, speaking of the importance of people of Karachi and how they were being chosen for top government posts, he highlighted that recently-elected Sindh Governor Imran Ismail was from the port city and so was Arif Alvi, the candidate the PTI has fielded for the office of the country's president.

In light of the austerity drive, Javed said: "People need to see the bigger picture here.

"We are making a comparison of the costs incurred then [before Khan became the nation's premier] and the expenses now and will share them during a press conference next week," he added.

The PTI leader said it was Imran who would "take this country forward".

"If there is Imran, there is Pakistan," he said.

"There's a danger to Imran Khan's life," he added in the context of the much-debated issue of the costs of the premier using a car or helicopter to commute from Bani Gala — Imran's residence — to the PM House.

"This is a message to the public that their leaders are not using the taxpayer money on themselves but on the people of Pakistan. We need to renew the trust" between the Pakistani people and those that hold the top offices, he concluded.