PTI dismisses Shabbar Zaidi's claims as 'contradictory'

• Country would have collapsed during PTI govt, Zaidi claims.
• PTI terms former FBR chief's claims "contradictory, baseless".
• "Shabbar Zaidi should talk on the basis of facts," PTI tweets.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Saturday reacted to the revelations made by former Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) chairman, Shabbar Zaidi, about the economic mismanagement of the PTI government, dismissing it as a "disappointing attempt to create a distorted view of PTI's economic strategy" and termed it "contrary to the facts."

Zaidi, speaking during Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath', claimed that the country would have faced economic collapse if the Imran Khan-led government had completed its tenure.

"Had this [PTI] government continued, the party would not have even secured 5% votes as the country would have economically collapsed," he said.

Taking exception to the claims, PTI, on its Twitter, mentioned that Zaidi's comments were "contradictory, baseless, and a sign of a confused mind".

In the tweet, the PTI stated that if Shabbar Zaidi's claims are taken as genuine, then he himself is also responsible for this.

The former FBR chief said he had advised the then-prime minister to rectify his government's shortcomings and "settle things, but he was not in the mood of listening [to anyone]".

Commenting on the objections raised by the ex-FBR chief about the PTI's economic strategy, the party wrote that they were never mentioned in Zaidi's resignation when he quit the top FBR post in 2020 — months after he assumed office on May 10, 2019.

The PTI, in its lengthy tweet, asked Zaidi to have looked at facts before criticising with a "confused mind".

"Instead of trying to attract attention by making baseless accusations, Shabbar Zaidi should talk on the basis of facts," the tweet read.

The party advised him to study the government's annual economic survey and the International Monetary Fund report.

"The revival of Pakistan's economy is possible not by insisting on untrue claims and lies, but by accepting the reality and being willing to correct mistakes," it added.