Pakistan role averted oil shock: Iqbal

Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said that if the Iran-US war had continued, oil prices would have surged beyond Rs600 per litre and the economies of 193 countries would have collapsed. "Today, Pakistan's leadership is not only a benefactor of Pakistan but of 193 countries," Iqbal said on Sunday while addressing a ceremony at a private college in Narowal, his hometown. The minister was referring to Pakistan's role as the mediator that convinced the warring parties to agree to a ceasefire on April 8 after a conflict lasting almost 40 days. Without naming the PTI, Iqbal said "a political party" used to tell people that Pakistan had been ruined, while a certain leader—Imran Khan—would begin his speeches by declaring the country devastated. "But today, the same Pakistan has crushed India's ambitions in the battle for truth, and from Australia to the United States, Pakistan is being talked about across the world," he added. Iqbal said if world leaders are praising any country today, it is Pakistan. "The world is acknowledging Pakistan's excellent diplomacy. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal General Syed Asim Munir, Allah has raised Pakistan's flag across the globe," he said. "If you look at history, whenever the PML-N has come into power, Pakistan's stature has risen." The federal minister further said that the country has progressed in every sector under the PML-N leadership. He noted that PML-N President Nawaz Sharif defied global pressure and conducted nuclear tests in 1997, making Pakistan's defence invincible. "If the Iran war had continued, oil prices would have exceeded Rs600 per litre. Had oil prices reached such levels, the economies of 193 countries would have collapsed. Today, Pakistan's leadership is not only a benefactor of Pakistan but of 193 countries," he added.