LONDON: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pakistan Ishaq Dar on Sunday alleged that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s policy has led to a resurgence of terrorism and economic crisis in the country.
He made the remarks while interacting with British lawmakers of Pakistani origin at a dinner hosted by the High Commissioner Dr Mohammad Faisal at the Pakistan House in London, according to a statement issued by the High Commission on Sunday.
The Deputy Speaker House of Commons Nusrat Ghani, Yasmin Qureshi (MP), Baroness Nosheen Mubarak, Lord Qurban Hussain, Lord Zameer Chaudhry, Baroness Shaista Gohir, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Mohammad Afzal Khan (MP), Imran Hussain (MP), Naseem Shah (MP), Tahir Ali (MP), Zubair Ahmed (MP), Mohammad Yasin (MP), Adnan Hussain (MP) and Ayoub Khan (MP), attended the dinner.
Dar told the audience that during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government from 2013 to 2017, terrorism was controlled at an immense cost of blood and national exchequer.
He noted that the previous government’s policy of appeasing extremist groups, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), and the release of over 100 terrorists, led to a resurgence of terrorism in the country.
Pakistan has been reeling under rising violent attacks since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, especially in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan.
Meanwhile, Ishaq Dar briefed the British Pakistani lawmakers on the government’s roadmap to economic revival.
He noted that during the Nawaz Sharif-led government from 2013 to 2017, Pakistan had grown to the world’s 24th-largest economy and was about to become a member of the G20.
The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the government was serious to putting Pakistan back on the road to economic growth.
“The difficult and politically unpopular measures taken by the recent government are now beginning to bear fruit,” he said.
The foreign minister also asked the Members of the British Parliament for suggestions on how the government could draw more direct foreign investment in Pakistan and enhance the bilateral trade volume.
Highlighting Pakistan’s new visa-free policy to encourage Pakistani expatriates to visit Pakistan, Dar added that it was important for young British Pakistanis to stay connected with their roots.
Referring to PTI, the Deputy PM said that there could be no question of engaging with those who attacked state institutions.
He vowed that the government would not allow any internal or external elements to derail Pakistan’s journey to development and prosperity.
Dar also expressed gratitude to the British Parliamentarians for raising the issue of atrocities inflicted upon the innocent people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) and the people of Gaza.
