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As the federal coalition marked a year in power, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured on Tuesday that “sincere” efforts were underway to revive Pakistan’s economy and recalled challenges faced by his government over the past year.
Last year, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) successfully courted PTI and allied lawmakers as they launched a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan. His tenure as premier ended on April 10 when the opposition’s no-trust motion against him was defeated by 174 votes out of 342 casts.
The following day, Shehbaz Sharif won 174 votes in a one-sided election in the National Assembly and was named Prime Minister after PTI announced the resignation of all of its lawmakers.
PDM government has presided over record inflation, and economists fear the country’s economy is “going off the rails.”
On completing a year in office today, the premier shared his thoughts on the challenges and difficulties faced by the government in a Twitter thread.
He stated that the no-confidence vote against the Imran-led government was “unprecedented not because PDM came to power, but because almost all of Pakistan’s political forces came together to use Parliament as a forum to vote out an unpopular government through constitutional means.”
“The alliance of political parties with disparate platforms for a common national cause represents a significant step forward in the country’s political evolution.” “The new politics after April 22 will be marked by reconciliation and cooperation, not confrontation and vendetta,” he tweeted.
PM Shehbaz said that despite “economic landmines” laid out by PTI chairman and global fuel and food supply lines, the current leadership had managed to keep Pakistan’s economy afloat.
“All forecasts of default have proven to be false alarms.” Sincere efforts are being made to revitalize the economy.”
The coalition government, he said, had been “at pains” to repair, rebuild, and deepen Pakistan’s diplomatic ties, which had been dealt a “severe blow” by the “Nazi regime.”
“I can assure people that we have largely succeeded in establishing Pakistan’s credibility as a partner and friend over the last year,” he said.
PM Shehbaz also mentioned last year’s devastating floods, saying that his government’s rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts, as well as mobilization of the international community, were deemed “outstanding” by the world.
“The government used climate diplomacy to present Pakistan’s case on the global stage.” We were instrumental in establishing the loss and damage fund as Chair of the G77 plus China.
The prime minister continued, “In the last year, we have made efforts to diversify the energy mix in order to provide relief to citizens.” He stated that the renewed emphasis on solar, hydel, and coal power projects is intended to replace more expensive sources of power generation with less expensive ones.
In response to the country’s sky-high inflation, PM Shehbaz stated that the government had expanded the social safety net and provided targeted subsidies.
He also mentioned Pakistan’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list, which he attributed to “excellent inter-ministerial coordination as well as support extended by our military leadership.”
The PM stated that it was a long journey, but sustained efforts made it possible.
“Building on the public transportation infrastructure, the government has focused on the early completion of development and transportation infrastructure projects in Islamabad since its inception in April last year,” he added, noting that the goal was to provide people with ease, comfort, and affordable mobility.
