Opposition seeks apology from govt for bringing country 'on brink of disaster' after three years

• Bilawal says Imran Khan snatched employment from thousands of Pakistanis.
• Says only "PTI mafias could benefit from the government's policies over last three years."
• Hamza Shahbaz says PTI should "mourn the 3-year performance instead of celebrating it."

Opposition parties on Thursday reacted to Prime Minister Imran Khan speech that he delivered regarding the performance of the PTI government over the last three years and said that the government should "apologise to the people of Pakistan instead of celebrating its so-called achievements."

In this regard, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari issued a statement and said that due to the rising inflation, Imran Khan "snatched employment from thousands of Pakistanis."

The PPP chairman said that over the last three years, Pakistan had to be isolated from the world because of Imran Khan's government.

“Imran Khan talks a big game but he constantly fails to perform. He can no longer fool the people with bold statements,” said the PPP Chairman.

He further said that everything stated by the prime minister begins with him and ends with him. 

"It is time he realised that in reality, everything needs to begin and end with the people of Pakistan," said Bilawal.

He went on to say that over the last three years, only "PTI mafias could benefit from the government's policies", adding that wheat and sugar thieves witnessed progress while the masses had to stand in queues for basic necessities, such as medicines.

"A poor man who has to check his pocket again and again before buying monthly ration exactly knows about Imran Khan's performance," said Bilawal.

The PPP chairman also said that Imran Khan has "brought the country to the brink of disaster in the last three years," adding that restoring the situation may take up to a decade or so.

He further said that the measure of a government's performance is not based on the false figures parrotted by government officials, but rather by the conditions ordinary people find themselves dealing with. 

Bilawal said that if one were to try to find proof of the country’s positive performance, as claimed by government officials and advisors of Imran Khan, it would "rather be easier to find a needle in a haystack."

“The puppet prime minister himself knows he has destroyed the administrative institutions of the country, but he is not ready to leave his post due to his insatiable lust for power, his stubbornness and his ego,” he said.

'PTI should apologise to people instead of applauding incompetence': Hamza Shahbaz

On the other hand, Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz also released a statement regarding the PTI government's three-year performance and said: "The PTI's provincial and federal governments should mourn the three-year performance instead of celebrating it."

"The PTI should apologise to people instead of applauding the inflation, unemployment, incompetence, and economic woes it caused to people in the last three years," the statement said. 

Citing Transparency International, the PML-N leader said that the PTI government has taken Pakistan to the 124th position on the Corruption Perceptions Index.

"The PML-N government had brought Pakistan from 127th to 117th position in the period from 2013 to 2018," the statement said. 

Hamza further said that according to a report presented before the Supreme Court, irregularities of more than Rs3 billion were exposed in zakat and bait-ul-maal funds.

"In the last three years, the prices of medicines have increased 13 times, Hamza said in the statement.

"In the three years since the PTI government came to power, four finance ministers, six FBR chairmen and three board of investment chairmen have changed," the statement said. "Electricity prices have been increased seven times. The power unit of Rs12 has crossed Rs21 and it is going to increase further."

PM Imran Khan lauds govt for achievements over last 3 years

Addressing a ceremony at Islamabad's Convention Centre to unveil PTI's performance over the last three years earlier today, PM Imran Khan said that when the PTI came into power, the trade deficit stood at $20 billion, and now, after three years, it stands at $1.08 billion.

He said that in the PTI's three-year rule, a record number of motorcycles, cars and tractors were sold.

"These figures are not Ishaq Dar's figures. They're real," he said, at one point, in criticism of the former finance minister.

He said after 10 years, Pakistan's industries are witnessing a boom, and that the cement industry, for example, had seen a 42% growth.

PM Imran Khan said that while in 10 years of PML-N rule, the Punjab Anti Corruption Establishment had recovered Rs2.5 billion, in the last three years, the PTI government has recovered Rs450 billion through the Punjab ACE.

The premier, shedding light on the social initiatives of his government, said that the PTI is the first government that has decided to uplift the lower segments of society, and in this spirit, it launched programmes the likes of which were never before seen in Pakistan.

He said the Ehsaas Programme, the flagship PTI programme for the eradication of poverty, used to give out Rs110 billion in aid and now a Rs260 billion allotment has been made for the purpose.

PM Imran Khan also spoke of interest-free loans for four million deserving families, and the Kissan Card for subsidies for farmers, which he said will now be launched in Gilgit-Baltistan, after being introduced in Punjab.

He said that the construction of 10 dams will take place, and the Diamar-Bhasha Dam will be complete in 2025.

The prime minister also highlighted the Single National Curriculum, which has kickstarted in Punjab and will soon feature a Seerat-e-Nabvi course for grades 8, 9 and 10, to teach students of the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

For backward areas of Sindh and Balochistan — 14 districts in Sindh and 8 in Balochistan, to be specific — a Rs1,400 billion has been announced, he said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said the world is raising a hue and cry over the fate of women under Taliban rule, but said it begs the question: "Has any foreign power ever come into a country and ensured its citizens get rights?"

"It is women themselves who have ever secured their own rights. Our women have the power to get their rights. We need only empower them with education.

"In England or the West, did any foreign power ever get the women rights? They worked hard to secure their own rights. And this is what our government has focused on immensely," PM Imran Khan said.

He went on to speak of how succession certificates have been made easy to acquire through NADRA. "The biggest benefit is that we are ensuring inheritance laws which give women a share in inheritance."