Islamabad

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday launched Pakistan-China Business Investment Forum aimed at facilitating investment between the two countries even as opposition parties intensified criticism against the government over inflation and rising debts.

The Pakistan-China Business Investment Forum has been set up in collaboration with the Board of Investment. It is aimed at facilitating investment in Pakistan and the promotion of business-to-business industrial cooperation, ARY News reported.

"We give incentives to Chinese industries and companies to relocate to Pakistan, but the problem is that the time taken from an agreement to its implementation is a lot," ARY News quoted Imran Khan as saying during his address at the inauguration ceremony.

Stressing that the investors are dissatisfied due to the delay, Imran Khan called for removing impediments to foreign investments.

Calling for the need to make exports the country's priority he said that a nation's development is not possible without increasing its exports.

Imran Khan’s call came amid the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf facing widespread criticism due to rising inflation, increasing foreign debt, supplementary finance bill and others which have fuelled the opposition’s demand for the prime Minister’s resignation.

On Saturday, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz President Shahbaz Sharif had said that the governments in other countries celebrate festive occasions by bringing down prices but Imran Khan has dropped an inflation bomb by hiking petrol prices on January 1.

Shahbaz asked Imran Khan to step down instead of "punishing" the masses due to his "incompetency".