Imran Khan lashes out at PM Shehbaz govt, says Pakistan facing ‘economic meltdown'

Amid Pakistan's financial crisis, Pakistan Terhreek-e-insaaf Chairman and former PM Imran Khan called the country's government "fascist" ahead of his trial at the Islamabad High court for the Al Qadir scam. Taking to Twitter, Imran Khan wrote, "With complete disregard for the rule of law, this fascist govt - far worse than General Musharraf's martial law, has a one-point agenda which is to crush PTI."

In the long tweet, he has also pointed that Pakistan's economy has gone into a free fall. "Dollar is at Rs. 315 in the open market, while for non-CNIC holders the rate is between Rs 320-325. The gap between the official rate & open market rate is Rs30/$," wrote the PTI chairman. While calling the Pakistan government fascist, he added, "This dollarization of economy means no local or foreign investment into the country, which will result in contraction of the GDP and worse, lead to hyperinflation." Further, he has accused the PDM leaders of having "billions of dollars stashed abroad, and understandably they are not pushed".

He also questioned, "How on earth is the Pakistani establishment allowing the country to head towards a complete economic meltdown?" 

IMF slashes cash-strapped Pakistan’s growth 

In April 2023, the International Monetary Fund slashed the growth outlook for cash-strapped Pakistan, forecasting the South Asian country’s fragile economy would grow just 0.5 per cent in 2023, down from 6 per cent in 2022, reported AP. The stats on Pakistan's "melting down economy" has been released by the IMF on April 13.

The report has revealed its World Economic Outlook report in Washington. On April 14, Pakistan and IMF officials held a crucial round of talks for the release of a key tranche of a $6 billion bailout package loan to Islamabad. However, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has been discussing s with the IMF to receive a key tranche of a $6 billion bailout package signed in 2019 by Sharif’s predecessor Imran Khan.

It is to be noted that the country has been struggling to avoid a default as it recovers from the destruction caused by last summer’s floods, which killed 1,739 people and caused $30 billion in damages. Meanwhile, the IMF also forecasted 27 per cent inflation in the impoverished Islamic nation for 2023, as per AP reports.