PESHAWAR:
PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram on Friday slammed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led Punjab government for its “anti-farmer policies” and mismanagement amid growing despair among the masses.
Speaking alongside Muzammil Aslam, advisor to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister of Finance, at a press conference in Peshawar, Akram accused the Punjab government of “mastering the art of deception”, adding that he was misleading the population about supposed economic progress.
He slammed Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for claiming economic recovery under her rule, challenging her to make a comparison between Punjab and KP. “She says the economy is on the right track, but we challenge them to compare the economic situation of Punjab with that of KP during the PTI tenure. Poverty under our regime was 12%, but under them it is 13%.
He further recalled that under the PTI rule, exports reached $31 billion, while in 2024, it fell to $26 billion under the PML-N government.
“In 2022, poverty was 35%, but it has now risen to 44%. Their policies have worsened every economic indicator, from rising interest rates to skyrocketing institutional losses, including PIA ” he said.
The PTI spokesperson further accused the PML-N of exploiting public institutions for personal gain. “They did not strengthen national institutions. Instead, they renamed basic health units, colleges and universities after their family members.”
He also claimed that KP’s Sehat card covers treatment of 103 diseases, while the PML-N has unnecessarily created separate cards for each disease.
Accusing the Punjab government of “anti-farmer policies”, Akram recalled that when the PTI launched the poultry programme, the PML-N had mocked it, “but now they themselves have become a laughing stock”.
He also criticized the Punjab Finance Minister for falsely claiming that the government had cut 150,000 posts, claiming that the said posts were already vacant.
“They are deceiving the public under the guise of reducing government burdens.”
Speaking on the occasion, Muzammil Aslam highlighted KP governance as a model of economic stability. “Change in Pakistan used to start in Lahore; today it starts from Peshawar. [Imran Khan] we talked about debt reduction, they laughed at us. But KP’s debt is only Rs725 billion, while Shehbaz Sharif borrowed an equivalent amount in just a week. »
He accused the government of mismanaging essential commodities. “They forcibly reduced flour prices by 36%, which will have the opposite effect in the future. They have pushed 1.8 million Pakistanis to leave the country out of desperation,” Aslam said.
He also dismissed the recent rise in the stock market, saying the 52,000 point rise was due to just five companies, two of which were ruthlessly exploiting the public.
