LAHORE: Former federal finance minister Shaukat Tarin has said that political instability is destroying the economy, hence “we all should sit together and decide about when to hold fresh elections.”
“Fresh elections were the only way out from the present economic chaos,” the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader said while addressing a press conference on Tuesday; he was flanked by PTI Central Punjab General Secretary Hammad Azhar.
Tarin lambasted the government for dismal performance; “inflation has hit the people hard as pulses have become expensive while exports have also fallen by 23 percent. He said that when they left the government, the inflation rate had dropped to 17 percent which skyrocketed to 42 percent under the current regime”. He added that the prices of petrol and essential items have gone up by 100 percent. He was also critical of the government for raising the electricity tariff, which has brought people onto the streets to hold protests against the hike.
He also noted that due to the rise in the inflation rate, the country’s exports fell by 23 percent while imports have also declined by US$900 billion. “In one month, the current account deficit has increased to Rs400 billion. The people responsible for dismal performance blamed us for laying landmines for them. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was not questioning the government’s mishandling of the economy because their members are sitting in America,” he added.
The former minister disclosed that another mini-budget was on the way to put further burden on the people. “The only solution to the country’s ongoing problems was a fresh mandate. If an interim government comes, solutions to our economic woes will emerge. If there is no consensus among the 13 political parties then they cannot provide economic direction,” he added
“I am a representative of the PTI and I will seek consent from PTI Chairman Imran Khan if I was offered a position in the interim set-up. I will help the caretaker government in taking the country out of the present economic mess. If an interim set-up has the support of all the political parties, we can together improve the country’s economy,” he added.
Meanwhile, former federal energy minister Hammad Azhar said that Pakistan was currently going through a difficult time as the political and economic condition of the country was in a critical stage. Everyone knows that civil and human rights are being violated in the state, while inflation has broken all records, and the in competency of the government was at its peak, he added.
He said the price of petrol has declined by 34 percent in the international market, but the price was increasing in Pakistan and added that demand for electricity in July was at its peak and ironically the production of electricity was reduced by 10 percent. He further said that payments to closed power plants were being made from taxpayers’ money. He pointed out that next month, Rs10 per unit will be added to the energy bills while in Karachi, Rs50 per unit will be charged under the head of taxes. “The people were suffering the consequences of the government’s inefficiency,” he added.
He observed that the political instability will worsen the economic condition of the country and hence only fresh elections were the answer to our economic woes; “without political stability, there will be no economic stability. We will give our suggestions for the caretaker Prime Minister to Imran Khan and he will take the final decision on the matter,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
Comments
Comments are closed.