ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday blamed the change of government for the ongoing economic crisis in the country, saying no state or foreign institution was interested in dealing with the incumbent administration in Islamabad.
Khan lost his parliamentary majority earlier this year and was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in April. Ever since, he has launched an anti-government campaign and repeatedly demanded early elections in the country.
The former premier and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have already rejected the new federal budget presented by the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying it will lead to high inflation and make it impossible for the business community to prosper in the country.
“[The government] neither received any aid from the Middle East, nor Turkey,” Khan was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune during an interaction with a group of media personnel in Islamabad. “No country wants to deal with this government.”
He said he had also told the country’s powerful military that the economy was gradually improving under his leadership, adding “the change of government had eroded the confidence of foreign investors.”
The former prime minister said officials of the new administration used to criticize him for rising prices in the country while pointing out that they had failed to deal with the situation themselves.
According to Geo News, he also dismissed the impression that he had changed his mind about resuming his protest march to bring down the government.
Last month, he asked his supporters from across Pakistan to meet him in Islamabad for a sit-in which, he said, was going to last until the dissolution of all assemblies and the announcement of a fresh election date.
However, he called off his protest demonstration hours after arriving in the federal capital while giving a six-day deadline to the government to announce new elections.
“No one should think that the march has ended,” he said.
