Govt may take country to stage where 'sovereignty is compromised', fears Imran.

PTI chairman Imran Khan assailed the government on Thursday for "not having a plan" to address Pakistan's economic challenges and said he feared that if the incumbent coalition setup remained in power, the country might face a situation compelling it to "compromise on its sovereignty".

Addressing lawyers at a ceremony organised by the Islamabad High Court Bar Association, Imran said he feared that the country's rulers would weaken it economically, and he feared that they may steer the country to a point where "those who come to bail us out may put forward a condition that will compromise our sovereignty, compromise our independence".

"The direction in which Pakistan has headed, I fear that we will [meet the same fate as] Sri Lanka. There has been an economic collapse there and I fear that we are headed in the same direction."

In this context, Imran also gave the example of the Soviet Union, which he said was "militarily strong but economically weak", which is it why broke apart.

And, he continued, only "free and fair elections" could save the country from "sinking in a mire".

He also berated the government over the recent hike in petroleum prices, saying that inflation would soar as a result of the decisions and people would be "crushed".

Imran said the "government does not have a roadmap" to salvage the economy and the "market has lost confidence in it".

"But instead of concentrating on the economy, their only interest is in getting a second NRO," he said.

The 'conspiracy'

Earlier, the PTI chief began his speech recalling events that led to his ouster as the prime minister in April.

"I was told that after the no-confidence motion [against me] was passed, [and] I should have constitutionally accepted it. But I ask you today, I put the facts before you," he said, claiming that on March 7 - a day before the then-opposition filed the no-confidence in the National Assembly - the US Undersecretary of State for South Asia Donald Lu met Pakistan's envoy in Washington.

The US official, he said, asked the envoy Asad Majeed Khan why Imran, who was prime minister at the time, had visited Russia.

Questions had been raised on Imran's visit to Russia in February as it coincided with the launch of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. The then-PTI government, however, maintained that the visit was only focused on building bilateral ties and was in no way connected with the offensive in Ukraine.

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