ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), Friday, flaying the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government's economic policies which has skyrocketed the inflation, termed the latest increase in prices of petroleum products as "cruel" and "anti-poor".
Addressing a press conference here, PML-N senior leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal and Marriyum Aurangzeb said the country was facing multiple challenges but the PTI government had paralysed the parliament - the place where all such problems could be discussed.
The PML-N leaders asked the prime minister to immediately resign for his failure to resolve the national issues.
They said that over the past three years, the PTI government had devalued Pakistani currency against US dollar by 50 percent, which had led to the present spike in inflation.
They termed the PTI government's policies "incompetency", saying the devaluation of the Pakistani currency was the only cause behind the increase in petrol and other prices as Pak rupee devaluation had made imports expensive.
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They further said the PML-N government had devised 12th five-year plan in 2017 but the PTI government failed to approve that five-year plan.
The PML-N government in consultation with all the provinces devised long-term national water policy, adding that Rs120 billion were spent on the purchase of land for building Diamer-Bhasha Dam, while the PTI government in the past three years failed to spend Rs29 billion on the project.
Former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who also spoke on the occasion, termed the spiralling inflation a "failure of the government".
He said over the past three days, the price of not just petrol, but also of other commodities such as eggs, potatoes, and onions had increased manifold.
"This is the situation of this country and the condition of this government today," he added.
Referring to a relief package recently announced by Prime Minister Imran to mitigate the impact of inflation, Abbasi questioned from where the funds for the Rs120 billion programme would be arranged.
"This all is just for the show. It is deception."
Abbasi also regretted that the parliament, where the issue of inflation could be deliberated upon to find a solution, had been "deliberately paralysed".
"We were compelled to hold a press conference to highlight this important issue, as there was a bar on speaking in the parliament," he said.
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Referring to Prime Minister Imran's speech a day ago, he quoted the premier as saying that the latter would not shake hands with the "corrupt" opposition.
"But then why does he shake hands with those in his cabinet?" Abbasi questioned, alleging the involvement of cabinet members in sugar and drug mafias.
He also accused the government of amending the National Accountability Ordinance, so as not to be held accountable for their misdeeds.
Abbasi termed "giving people the right to decide their fate once again" as the only solution to the ongoing crisis of inflation.
"It is the need of the hour," he stressed, saying the growing inflation was a consequence of a "hybrid regime" and a "stolen election".
He said the only answer to the crisis was "free and fair elections".
Senior leader PML-N Ahsan Iqbal while denouncing the recent hike in petrol prices said that PM Imran Khan was misleading the nation on the matter.
He referred to the premier's address at a public gathering earlier in the day, where the latter had said the rise in inflation and prices of commodities was a consequence of the increase in prices globally.
Prime Minister Imran had explained that inflation had occurred globally due to the Covid-19 pandemic causing various issues such as supply shortages, trade closure, lockdowns, and reduced buying and selling.
"This rise in the price of petrol in the country is in no way linked to the increase in the prices of fuel internationally.""Internationally, the fuel price increases by just three per cent, and here it jacks up by 66pc," the PML-N leader pointed out.
Noting that the price of fuel was around $65 per barrel on average in 2018, he said over the course of three years, the rate had risen by around merely $2 or three per cent to $67.
And in May 2018, when his party completed its term in the government and the PTI was elected, petrol was being sold at Rs87 per litre, he said, adding that the price had increased drastically in just three years to reach around Rs145 per litre.
He added, the rise in petrol price in Pakistan was not a consequence of an increase in prices internationally, but the devaluation of the rupee was caused by the incumbent government's "inefficiency and wrong decisions".
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He said that PM Imran Khan has become irrelevant to all the national matters, adding that the PM has created serious security uncertainty as he has made dysfunctional three most important pillars of the security i.e. Karachi Corps, Peshawar Corps, and the ISI.
The PML-N leader said because of the rupee's devaluation, the price of every commodity being imported would increase.
He said that the PML-N government started Dasu Dam project, KurramTangi Dam project, completed Kachi Canal project, and other hydel power projects. NeelumJahlum project was completed.
"And when the price of [imported] fuel increases, there will be a rise in electricity and gas prices. It's a chain, and eventually the price of other commodities would soar as well," he added.
Giving India's example, he said the government there had decreased the prices of petrol and diesel yesterday (Thursday) by reducing duties.
But in Pakistan, the government increased the duty on the commodities to increase the prices of petrol and diesel in "the darkness of the night to further burden the people with inflation", he alleged.
Iqbal further criticised the government for its alleged lack of planning, contrary to what the prime minister claimed.
He said that PM Imran Khan and his government has destroyed the administrative structure of the country, saying that Imran Khan was full of "arrogance, ego, and hatred".
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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