Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday hit out at the Opposition parties for calling him a 'selected' prime minister, asserting that those who were "themselves manufactured" during military rule are now using the term to criticise him.
"Those talking about [me being] 'selected' were themselves manufactured in the nursery of military dictatorship," he was quoted by The Dawn as saying while addressing the National Assembly.
Blaming the previous governments for the economic turmoil in the country, Khan said that money laundering is one of the reasons for the devaluation of Pakist rupee.
"The Opposition is misleading public on the devaluation of the rupee. Shehbaz Sharif delivered a charged address in which he blamed us for the rupee devaluation and economic situation. He did not say why we are here? This government had the largest fiscal deficit. Imports were high, exports very low," he was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.
"One of the main reasons is money laundering. The ruling elite siphoned off dollars from Pakistan. When rulers do that, then no one can be stopped. We have found out that there are USD 10 billion of Pakists abroad," the cricketer-turned-politician said.
On June 23, Deputy Speaker of National Assembly Qasim Suri had issued a ruling, banning lawmakers from referring to the Leader of the House as 'selected' since it would amount to insulting the House.
The order came after Energy Minister Ayub Khan had raised objections that Khan being referred as 'selected' was a violation of House rules.
Khan asserted that when his government took office, all public institutions were facing record losses.
Lashing out at the Opposition, Khan said that people who were making speeches were facing allegations of money laundering. He alleged that the Public Accounts Committee was being chaired by a person accused of graft.
"This (Shehbaz Sharif) Opposition leader's family was responsible for this mess. How can they accuse us? In western democracies, the parliament protects public interest. Here, people who faced massive corruption charges are lecturing us in the Parliament," he said.
"We have tainted the sanctity of our Parliament through such actions. This Parliament passed a law allowing a convicted person to head a political party," Khan said while referring to Shehbaz Sharif.
( With inputs from ANI )