LAHORE:
Emboldened by record remittances, the government appeared to have found new confidence on Friday as it took a victory lap, ridiculing the PTI’s call for civil disobedience as a failure.
Relying on money sent by overseas Pakistanis, the ruling PML-N attacked the PTI, saying the party’s call for civil disobedience had fizzled, remittances foreigners reaching a record level despite former Prime Minister Imran Khan. attempts to stoke anti-government sentiment.
The ruling party also praised overseas Pakistanis for their “categorical rejection” of attempts to destabilize the economy.
“Congratulations to the nation on this morning of prosperity as the night of anarchists comes to an end…Overseas Pakistanis have rejected those calling for civil disobedience,” Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said , in a press release.
The remarks came as the SBP reported remittances of $3.1 billion for December, an increase of 29.3 percent year-on-year and 5.6 percent from the previous month.
In addition to the day’s achievements, PIA resumed its long-suspended flights to Europe with the first flight to Paris after a hiatus of more than four years.
These developments came after the PTI had already launched its civil disobedience movement by demanding the release of political prisoners and a judicial investigation into the events of May 9, 2023 and the November 26 repression. Imran Khan had urged his supporters to start the movement by stopping remittances in its first phase.
Congratulating the nation on its progress, Aurangzeb credited the record remittances as a categorical rejection of the PTI campaign, saying: “Overseas Pakistanis have rejected the calls of these anarchists by sending $3.1 billion in Pakistan.
Regarding the resumption of PIA flights to Europe, she accused the PTI of harming national property through reckless statements. “Who will answer for the loss of four and a half years?” she questioned.
She further claimed that the PML-N saved Pakistan from default and brought inflation to a record high.
Similarly, Bilal Azhar Kayani, head of the National Parliamentary Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals, called the remittance figures a “categorical rejection” of the PTI campaign.
In a statement published on X, he said the development was further evidence of Pakistan’s macroeconomic recovery under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Kayani praised the vital role that overseas Pakistanis continue to play in strengthening the country’s economy.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also congratulated the nation on both the remittance milestone and the successful PIA flight to Paris. “The claims of those chanting that the country’s economy would shut down have proven to be baseless,” he said.
