PTI accuses govt of ‘unprecedented economic crisis’, slams claims of stability

ISLAMABAD: PTI accused the government on Monday of driving Pakistan into an “unprecedented economic and governance crisis” that has “crushed the common man”.

In a statement, PTI’s Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram stated that the “stability” claimed by the government was nothing but a “cruel joke on 250 million Pakistanis”.

Akram said that after four years of no reforms, inflation had returned sharply, with the Consumer Price Index rising 11 per cent year-on-year and the Sensitive Price Indicator increasing 15pc. He added that fuel and electricity prices had surged significantly, with petrol and diesel nearing Rs400 per litre and power tariffs reaching Rs60–80 per unit, while food costs, including flour and roti, had also risen markedly across the country.

He further slammed the Punjab government’s ban on inter-provincial wheat movement, calling it a blatant violation of Article 151 of the Constitution.

“A Form-47 chief minister who herself sits on an illegitimate seat has no regard for the federation. The prime minister, enslaved to the Takht-e-Lahore, refuses to intervene even as flour prices spiral out of control across KP and other provinces,” Akram added.

“Food imports have surged by $2 billion, and Pakistan now ranks among the 10 most food-insecure countries in the world, with 11 million citizens at risk of extreme hunger. This government has no food security plan, no energy plan, no growth plan, no export plan, no Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plan and no plan to cut wasteful expenditure. It couldn’t even win a majority on the floor of the house. Yet it continues to rule through coercion and manipulation,” he alleged.

“Development is being sacrificed at the altar of elite extravagance. This is not stability; this is fiscal surrender and economic strangulation,” he asserted.

Akram also termed the government’s tax policy as “punish the documented, protect the powerful”.

On the energy front, Akram called the government’s decision to borrow Rs1.25 trillion to retire circular debt “the same old disease with new excuses”.

“With power circular debt at Rs1.7 trillion and gas circular debt at Rs2.6 trillion, the regime continues to shift the burden onto consumers instead of fixing theft, losses, recoveries and exploitative contracts,” he added.

“PTI has always maintained that real economic progress is impossible without clean, elected democratic governance, strong institutions, ease of doing business and merit-based decision-making.”

“Unless these fundamentals are fixed, no amount of photo-ops, statements or desperate meetings will bring lasting change. Pakistan possesses the potential, the strategic location and the market, but under this setup, it will continue to lose opportunities and dignity. The people of Pakistan are paying the heaviest price for a government that exists only to finance the lifestyles of its rulers,” he concluded.