Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday said that China has barred the government from disclosing the amount of financial assistance given during the recent visit owing to concerns from some of the Beijing’s regional partners, a private TV channel reported. When asked during a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party meeting in Islamabad, the prime minister said China has offered Pakistan an ‘unprecedented’ aid package. “But, they do not want the exact figure of the aid to be disclosed,” he added.
Talking about the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protests against the acquittal of Asia Bibi, Imran Khan said the government had to deal with the issue carefully because of the sensitivity of the matter. He claimed the protesters had been paid to take part in the sit-ins. The prime minister went on to say if the protests had not ended, it would have compelled him to return to the country immediately.”No one can imagine the way we tackled the protests,” he added. The prime minister said after coming into power, he has come to know of the scale of corruption committed during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) tenure. The government would not allow plunderers of the public wealth to walk free, he vowed.
Published in Daily Times, November 9th 2018.
