An old video of a speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trending across the border. Leaders of Imran Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, are sharing a clip of PM Modi to slam the Shehbaz Sharif government over Pakistan's financial crisis.
The video shows PM Modi's speech in Rajasthan's Barmer during his campaign for the 2019 general election. "We destroyed Pakistan's arrogance, forced them to go around the globe with a begging bowl," the Prime Minister says.
He also refers to Pakistan's threats of a nuclear attack and says: "We have stopped fearing Pakistan's threats. If they have nuclear weapons, ours are hardly kept for Diwali."
As Pakistan battles an economic crisis, PTI supporters have started sharing the video clip to attack the Sharif-led government, even though the comments were made when Imran Khan was in power. Imran Khan was ousted following a no-trust vote last year.
The video has been shared, among others, by Azam Khan Swati, former Pakistan minister and senior leader of the Imran Khan-led party.
In a tweet accompanying the video, he said the Pakistan government should be ashamed and called for a regime change. Many in the comments section also slammed the Pakistan Army, saying it has led the country down.
Journalist Naila Inayat was among those who pointed out the irony in PTI supporters sharing the clip. "The funniest part, PTI sharing this to tell current govt, look what Modi is saying about you. While the clip is from April 2019 when Imran Khan was in government," she tweeted.
Earlier, PTI leader Imran Khan had praised Prime Minister Modi while targeting former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif over corruption. "No other leader except Nawaz in the world has properties worth billions. Tell me about one country whose Premier or leader has a billions worth of properties outside the country. Even in our neighbouring country, how many properties does PM Modi has outside India?" he had said at a public gathering in September.
Pakistan, battling a massive economic crisis with foreign exchange reserves depleting fast, is in talks with the International Monetary Fund and has reached out to friendly nations for help.
Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif recently said it is a matter of shame that a country, which is a nuclear power, has to beg. He added that seeking foreign loans was not the right solution to address Pakistan's economic challenges, as loans would have to be returned.
