Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday ordered officials to make preparations for holding state-level protests against the Israeli atrocities in Palestine on Friday, a private TV channel reported.
The PM issued the orders during a meeting he chaired of government spokespersons. The aides of the PM had advised him to hold such a demonstration on Friday.
Apart from the situation in Palestine, the government’s economic team briefed the spokespersons on the country’s economic outlook. The officials told the spokespersons that Pakistan’s economic indicators are ‘positive’ despite the coronavirus pandemic. They were told that the exports and remittances of the country were “steadily increasing”.
The officials said that inflation was a global problem but added that the inflation rate was less in Pakistan as compared to other countries. They said the price of petroleum products is the lowest in Pakistan among countries of the region. “The country’s economy is [going] in the right direction. The economy is improving due to the actions taken by the government,” the prime minister said on the occasion. He said the country’s exports have increased by 13.50% and the current account is in surplus for the last 10 months.
The prime minister also told the spokespersons that the IT exports of the country have increased by 44% and cement sales have also shot up by 40%. He assured the spokespersons that his government is working to provide relief to people as much as possible. He instructed the spokespersons to speak about the government’s economic performance. The meeting was also briefed about the contempt of court petition filed by Shahbaz Sharif against his name being placed on the exit control list (ECL) despite the Lahore High Court order. Sources said the prime minister remarked that the former Punjab CM’s name was added to the ECL as there are corruption cases against him. “I have no personal enmity but those who looted the national wealth cannot be freed,” he said, adding that “there will be no compromise on supremacy of law and accountability”.
On the issue of Palestine, Pakistan and Turkey have decided to move United Nations against the Zionist atrocities on the Palestinian people. The two foreign ministers will raise their voice for Palestine in the United Nations.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that he will be leaving to attend the UN meeting. Talking about the situation in Gaza during the National Assembly session, he said that Pakistan’s first responsibility is to establish a ceasefire in Palestine. “The trend on Pakistan’s historic position in the Security Council and the OIC is visible,” he said.
The foreign minister said that Pakistan has condemned the aggression against Palestinian people. “Two important meetings on Palestine issue were held on May 16. One was a meeting of the OIC Executive Committee on Foreign Affairs and the other was a meeting of the UN Security Council. The Security Council meeting was chaired by the Chinese foreign minister,” he said. “I pay homage to the leadership of China, who has tried to unite the Security Council. All members of the Security Council were convinced, but unfortunately the United States vetoed it,” he said. “The path is difficult, the world has double standards, but the truth carries great weight,” he added.
