Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the nation today at 6pm to discuss the economy and ‘global challenges after the Russia-Ukraine conflict’, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has announced.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has also spoken about the premier’s upcoming speech, telling reporters that he thinks “he [PM Imran] is going to make a very big announcement.”
The foreign minister told people to ‘be ready’ as the prime minister would ‘talk openly from the heart’.
The prime minister and his government have come under criticism of late, as the opposition prepares to bring a no-confident motion against him. PM Imran’s recent visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin was criticised by some quarters because it coincided with the start of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Foreign Minister Qureshi defended the decision, saying that visiting with Putin last week was ‘the right thing to do‘.
Additionally, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had been earlier criticised for its decision to raise petrol prices for two weeks to Rs.12 per litre, the highest-ever price in the country’s history. The Russia-Ukraine war has increased petrol prices worldwide, with some reports indicating the price of petrol and diesel are projected to rise by around Rs.10 per litre.
In response to the announcement of the scheduled speech, Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb said that prime minister’s speech would only ‘waste more time’, and urged him to ‘apologise for his false promises and accusations.’
قوم سے کئے اپنے جھوٹے وعدوں اور سیاسی مخالفین پہ لگائے جھوٹے الزامات پر معافی مانگیں؟کیونکہ مہنگائی میں کمی،پچاس لاکھ گھر،ایک کروڑ نوکری اور آئی ایم ایف نہیں جاؤں گا کےاعلان تو اب ممکن نہیں .دعا ہے کہ یہ آخری خطاب ثابت ہو تاکہ مسلسل ذہنی اذیت مہنگائی اور بے روزگاری سے نجات مل سکے
— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) February 28, 2022
