Opposition 'blackmail' won't work, says Imran.

Byline: Mansoor Malik

LAHORE -- Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the joint opposition seeking his resignation through Azadi march can't blackmail him no matter what strategy it adopts.

'As long as I am alive, I will not give NRO [relief to the corrupt] to anyone. 'The two NROs given by former dictator General Pervez Musharraf to Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari for the former's departure to Saudi Arabia and the latter's entry into Pakistan led Pakistan to bankruptcy,' the premier said while speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Baba Guru Nanak University in Nankana Sahib, 60km from here, on Monday.

He said that during his first speech after becoming the prime minister he had predicted that all the corrupt would soon join hands against him. 'The Azadi march leaders are not marching to prove that the PTI government has failed, but are afraid that this government is succeeding,' he added.

He said the Azadi marchers were clueless about the reason of their protest as at one point of time they said a Jewish lobby was taking over Pakistan, then tried to attach it [the government] with the Qadianis and at another time blamed it for price hike.

He alleged that all the corrupt political leaders had increased the country's debt four times during the past 10 years, causing a massive price hike. He said the government had to use half of its tax collected from across the country to pay instalments of the loans secured by successive governments of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. 'We are left with no money to run the country,' he said.

Speaking at foundation stone-laying ceremony of Baba Guru Nanak University, PM says Azadi marchers are clueless about reason of their protest

Mr Khan regretted that other countries were not sharing information about the money stashed abroad by the corrupt as their citizens by virtue of iqama (work permit). He said the corrupt mafia had started calling the government a failure from day one.

'The Pakistan government brought economic reforms under grave stress and pressure and stabilised its economy. Now the IMF, ADB and World Bank are recognising Pakistan government's economic reforms that helped it ascend to the top among this region in ensuring ease of doing business', he added.

The prime minister said traders were now agreeing to pay fixed taxes, adding that the world was now considering Pakistan as a lucrative place for investment.

Referring to the Bureau of Statistics' figures, he...