Islamabad: (Faisal Azfar Alvi) Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the nation at 6pm today (Monday) to talk about the country’s economic situation and the global challenges in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry announced the news on Twitter, saying: “Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the nation this evening, taking the nation into confidence on the economy and global challenges after the Russia-Ukraine conflict”.
Later, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in a media talk, shared the timing of the address, saying it would take place at 6pm.
“I think he (PM Imran) is going to make a very big announcement,” the foreign minister said while talking to the media in Jacobabad. He advised people to “be ready” since the prime minister would “talk openly from the heart”.
Qureshi said the premier realised the people’s pain and what they were going through. He also said the prime minister was about to visit Sindh soon.
Planning Minister Asad Umar, while addressing a rally in Ratodero, also said that the premier would make an “important announcement” in his address tonight.
However, the mystery over what the announcement could be was already given away by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak a day before in Nowshera.
Addressing a gathering, Khattak had said that the prime minister would announce a reduction in petroleum prices by Rs10 per litre, for which a subsidy of Rs250 billion will be provided.
He further said that petroleum prices will not be hiked for the next four months, with there even being the possibility of further price reduction if the international situation improves, reduction in electricity prices by Rs5 per unit and allowances of Rs10,000 per month to be paid to unemployed graduates.