Senior PTI leader and former planning minister Asad Umar on Thursday questioned whether the airstrike by India in Balakot in 2019 was more damaging to Pakistan or the no-confidence vote that saw Imran Khan ousted as prime minister, an event he said led to the country’s dire economic straits.
“I was asking people. Tell me whether the strike by India in Balakot — in which a crow and 12 trees were hit — caused more damage to Pakistan or the no-confidence motion which was introduced through foreign interference and caused political instability?” he asked during a press conference in Islamabad.
Umar, who was speaking alongside PTI leaders Ali Zaidi and Omar Ayub Khan — both former cabinet members — and went on to describe the country’s dismal economic situation, linking it with the no-confidence motion.
He pointed out the persistent decline in the rupee’s value over the past week, saying that it had led to a significant increase in Pakistan’s external debt.
“Since the day the no-confidence motion was filed, our foreign debt has increased by Rs2,860 billion till date,” he claimed. “This is the damage that has been caused.”
