“Even friendly countries think we are beggars”: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif

Speaking at a lawyers’ convention on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the nation’s disastrous economic situation and said, “Friendly countries had started looking at Pakistan as a nation that is always asking for money.”

“Today, when we go to any friendly country or make a phone call, they think that we have come to beg for money,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by Pakistani media outlet The Dawn. “Where does Pakistan stand today after 75 years? Even smaller economies had surpassed Pakistan and we have been wandering for the past 75 years carrying a begging bowl,” he added.

Sharif then shifted blame for the rapidly rising inflation to the previous Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) administration, which was led by Imran Khan. He claimed that Khan’s administration broke the terms of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), forcing the incumbent administration to accept stringent requirements. “The IMF had even threatened withdrawal of its progra­mme if the agreed conditions were not met,” he further added.

Devastating floods have pushed hurt Pakistan, which is already experiencing a terrible economic crisis and soaring inflation, to a complete standstill. One in every seven people in the country is severely impacted by the floods, and a third of the country is underwater.