Taking a dig at the major international loans Pakistan is currently buried under, a lawmaker from the country targeted the nation’s prime minister, Imran Khan, calling his government "irresponsible" after the PIA aircraft was seized in Malaysia on 15 January.
“Today Malaysia kept our airplane, tomorrow someone will keep the prime minister over non-payment of loans”, the Pakistani parliamentarian, who hasn't been identified by the media yet, can be heard saying in Hindi in a video posted by journalist Naila Inayat.
The speaker further goes on to say that under an irresponsible government, it is certain that one of these days, some country will detain the Pakistani prime minister over pending loan payments, which will be a matter of immense shame.
"Today Malaysia kept our airplane, tomorrow someone will keep the prime minister over non-payment of loans."
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) January 18, 2021
pic.twitter.com/N6uD0MDi6i
The almost two-minute video has gone viral on social media, with thousands of likes and re-tweets, as well as hundreds of comments.
As reflected by the comments on the clip, Indian netizens jumped at the opportunity to troll Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan over his country’s debt-ridden economy.
I really doubt anyone would want your prime minister. Every one knows he is of no value.🤣🤣🤣
— Puneri_Ankita (@90_Ankita) January 19, 2021
However I doubt oneday Pakistanis themselves would pay someone to take him away.😉😉
To those who are saying why keep the PAK PM, he can be tremendously useful. After all, he is the world's foremost authority on begging. He can go and establish the international branch of PIBT
— Dinesh Rajkumar (@dineshsays) January 19, 2021
Pakistan Institute of Begging Technology 😂😂
Why would anyone keep your PM. Generally creditors impound valuable assets, No one takes over liabilities.
— Ranjit Singh Borar (@rsborar) January 18, 2021
No the plane will be always costlier than your PM. https://t.co/FSoelcFnzE
— Sonalika kumar (@sonalika_kumar) January 19, 2021
On 15 January, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger place was seized by Malaysian authorities due to a British court case over the jet’s lease.
According to the Kuala Lumpur High Court, the plaintiff of the case is Peregrine Aviation Charlie Limited and the matter pertains to two jets leased to PIA by the Dublin-based AerCap - the world’s largest aircraft lessor - in 2015.
After the PIA aircraft was seized in Malaysia, the airline announced that it will pursue the matter through diplomatic channels.
It is an unacceptable situation and PIA has engaged the support from Government of Pakistan to take up this matter using diplomatic channels
— PIA (@Official_PIA) January 15, 2021
Pakistan, with a population of over 200 million people, is currently struggling through an economic crisis. The country has taken massive loans from other nations, including China, Saudi Arabia, as well as the UAE.
In addition, Pakistan also received $1 billion from the World Bank and $500 million from the Asian Development Bank to help the country in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
SBP has received $1.3 billion as GOP loan disbursements from Chinese Banks this week. This brings the total amount of official inflows received since 23rd June 2020 to around $3 billion.
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) June 30, 2020
