Islamabad (Web Desk): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday announced that the incumbent government will hand over the reins to a caretaker setup after the completion of its tenure in August 2023.
In televised address to the nation, the premier said that despite challenges and conspiracies hatched by the political opponents, the coalition government successfully managed to set the country on right direction in shortest period.
براہِ راست - وزیراعظم شہباز شریف کا قوم سے اہم خطاب https://t.co/xPjXOLoi8y
— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) July 13, 2023
He said the coalition government, in a short span of just 14 months, did not leave any stone unturned to provide employment to the youth and relief to the people against the rising inflation in the country.
"It was a journey from pessimism toward optimism, media freedom and civil liberties," PM Shehbaz said.
The prime minister said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme was the biggest obstacle in the way of the country’s economic revival, which the previous government agreed on the toughest conditions.
PM Shehbaz said that the previous government brought the country on the brink of default by deviating from its agreement with the IMF.
He said the political opponents remained busy in hatching conspiracies and creating hurdles when the coalition government was trying to resume the ongoing programme with the global lender.
He especially thanked China, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their timely cooperation and help in this critical time.
"We cleaned the landmines spread in the way of Pakistan’s interests and “doused the fire" that erupted because of mismanagement, inefficiency and conspiracy in running the affairs of the country, including the economy and foreign affairs, PM Shehbaz said.
The prime minister said that this was the only elected coalition government in Pakistan’s democratic history that was established for the shortest period and faced the biggest challenges and conspiracies.
He said the coalition partners preferred to save interests of the state by putting their political objectives at stake.
The premier's address comes a day after Pakistan reached a $3 billion Standby Agreement with theIMF. The cash-starved nation received the first tranche of $1.2 billion on Thursday.
