PM stresses on independent foreign policy
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Monday announced a host of economic relief measures and stressed an independent foreign policy amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis.
In his address to the nation, he said that the government has decided to lower petrol and diesel prices by Rs. 10 and would not increase them until the next budget, which is expected to come out in June.
At the outset of his speech, PM Imran Khan said since he began politics, he wanted a sovereign policy for Pakistan, which was not dependent on any other state and was solely for the country’s benefit. The PM said that government has decided to reduce petrol and diesel prices by Rs. 10 and the electricity tariff will drop by Rs. 5. “The price of these commodities will not rise till the next budget,” he added.
Prices of petroleum products likely to rise
Citing an example of a foreign policy that is dependent on other countries’ interests, he noted Pakistan supported the United States in its “war on terror” that resulted in several casualties in home soil.
“I was against this war since day one. No Pakistani was involved in the 9/11 attacks,” the PM said, noting that when Pakistan partook in the Afghan war earlier, it was termed as “jihad”, but when the US invaded Afghanistan, Washington said that it was going into Kabul to fight against terrorism.
He went onto say that Pakistan suffered heavily, in terms of human lives and capital. “As many as 80,000 Pakistanis were martyred, 3.5 million people were displaced and the countries suffered losses worth $150 billion”.
Petrol, diesel prices reduced after cut in excise duty
The premier slammed the US for bombing Pakistan despite Islamabad being part of the war on terror. He said that dictators were known for accepting foreign pressure to gain acceptability.
But during former dictator General Pervaiz Musharaf’s tenure, only 10 drone attacks took place in Pakistan, while during PPP and PML-N’s tenure, a total of 400 attacks took place.
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