Web Desk (LTN NEWS): Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail asked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra to resign and PTI Senator Shaukat Tarin to leave politics for trying to hurt Pakistan’s interests after audio of their conversation about the important International Monetary Fund (IMF) program was leaked on Monday.
In one of the audio clips that are being played a lot on TV, Tarin can be heard asking Jhagra to write a letter to the federal government to let them know that KP will not be able to commit to a provincial surplus because of the recent floods that have caused a lot of damage in Pakistan.
In the other audio, Tarin can be heard asking Punjab Finance Minister Mohsin Leghari to do the same thing.
All provinces agreed earlier this year that running a provincial surplus was a key part of Pakistan’s IMF program and the release of the loan tranche by the lender.
In his press conference, Ismail talked about both the audio leaks and a letter Jhagra sent him last week. In that letter, Jhagra told Ismail that his government would not be able to provide a provincial surplus this year.
The minister of the federal government said that Jhagra sent the letter to the IMF before sending it to him. “Within an hour of getting the letter, I checked with them (the IMF), and they already had it. Are we children? Am I mad? If you’re smart, why can’t we see it? Then you have to defend it.
“Imran Khan should ask for forgiveness from the whole country. Taimur Jhagra should leave office, and Shaukat Tarin should do the same. Is this why you run for office? He yelled loudly.
He called what the PTI did “the most shameful thing” and said that the real faces of the party leaders were now out in the open.
Ismail also asked PTI supporters to ask Imran Khan, the leader of the party, if the letter Jhagra wrote was in the best interest of the country. “Support Imran, but tell him he is not bigger than Pakistan. Put him in charge, but don’t do it at the expense of Pakistan.
“It is your job to tell them no when they write letters that are bad for Pakistan. Think about what is best for Pakistan. If a person doesn’t care about what’s best for Pakistan, he shouldn’t be in charge of the country.
At the beginning of his press conference, the finance minister talked about how bad the damage from the floods was. He pointed out that people had lost family members, had their homes flooded, their crops destroyed, and their animals killed.
He said that Pakistan was “drowning” and that the IMF program was the only thing that could help (besides God). But, he said, the PTI had done something bad in the middle of all the damage.
Ismail said that only Leghari had asked if writing the letter would hurt the state because of the audio leak. “No one had asked this before. Jhagra said, “I know who IMF’s number 2 is, and I will tell you.” Did you run for office to do this?
“Fawad Chaudhry talked about this the day before. Should Imran Khan be able to change the name of Pakistan to “Bani Gala”? Should we hang Pakistan based on what Imran Khan says? Has Imran Khan become bigger than Pakistan? “Aren’t they embarrassed?”
“PTI brought the country to the point of going broke.”
The minister said that several politicians, including the leader of the PML-N, Nawaz Sharif, had warned against forming a government after Imran Khan lost the vote of no confidence because the country was in a dangerous situation.
Ismail said that when the coalition government took over, the country was already broke.
He criticized the PTI for “bringing the country to the brink of bankruptcy, making a deal with the IMF and then breaking it, and leaving a deficit of Rs350 billion with Rs600 billion in adjustors after telling the IMF the deficit would be kept to Rs25 billion.”
After taking power, the PML-N “put its political capital on the line and saved the country from default,” he said, adding that it was very hard for him to get back into talks with the IMF about getting the program back on track.
“When I raise the price of gas, Shaukat Tarin and Asad Umar criticize me, and so do people in my party. What else could I do? Would we put the country in debt in order to save our ministries? Even if we were the enemy, we wouldn’t have done that. The day Shehbaz became PM, he asked the PTI to talk about an economic charter, but they turned him down.
He said that Pakistan was saved from a situation like Sri Lanka because of the coalition government. “I don’t want to use the word treason. Is this what you’re doing?”
The minister said that the PTI had gone too far with this plot.
Other ministers criticize the PTI
Separately, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif wrote on Twitter that someone had crossed a “red line” of the state’s identity and existence when they attacked its survival and economy just for power or to hurt political opponents.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said, “There is no doubt left that Imran Niazi has gone blind and will play with every interest of Pakistan for the sake of his ego and power.”
Iqbal asked if this wasn’t treason, what else could it be called? “What do you tell those who still don’t see that this person is self-centered?” he added.
