LAHORE:
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday slammed the government over the latest hike in oil prices, calling it “economic terrorism”.
The party also announced a boycott of elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), demanded a judicial probe into the alleged wheat shortage while calling for the immediate release and medical treatment of jailed party founder Imran Khan and other political prisoners.
He alleged that while reductions in international oil prices were never passed on to consumers, even minor increases were reflected domestically within 48 hours, accompanied by additional taxes.
PTI claimed that during Imran Khan’s tenure, petrol was kept at Rs 150 per liter despite the “world’s worst crude oil supercycle”.
He also criticized those who earlier demanded petrol at Rs 70 per liter, alleging that they were now justifying prices exceeding Rs 300 or even Rs 400. The party accused the government of shifting the burden of economic woes onto the public while shielding itself from the consequences of its policies.
Referring to a recent tragedy in Hasilpur, the PTI claimed that a family, crushed by poverty and unable to pay their rent or an electricity bill of Rs 17,500, poisoned their two young children before committing suicide.
He said children were demanding milk that their parents could not afford and that the government was directly responsible for creating conditions that pushed citizens to such desperation.
The PTI also criticized the government’s handling of the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that authorities were trying to turn the region into “a replica of occupied Kashmir” by deploying 4,000 Frontier Corps and Rangers personnel while imposing a month-long communications blackout to suppress a peaceful movement.
The party said the Awami Joint Action Committee’s demands for affordable electricity and flour were legitimate.
He warned that any election held in such circumstances would amount to “a pre-arranged selection, not a democracy”.
The PTI demanded immediate lifting of restrictions, reaffirmed its support for the people of Kashmir and announced that it would not participate in the elections, maintaining its decision to boycott the AJK polls.
Third wheat crisis
The PTI further alleged that despite claims of a bumper wheat harvest, the government had caused another artificial wheat crisis – the third since its tenure – by creating a shortage of over 3.5 million tonnes while planning to import an additional two million tonnes.
The party claimed that reports indicated that 4.5 million tonnes of wheat had gone missing from Punjab government warehouses. He said flour prices had increased to between Rs 130-150 per kilogram, compared to Rs 65-70 under the PTI government, while farmers had been devastated by soaring input costs.
The PTI demanded a judicial probe into the allegedly missing wheat stocks and a forensic audit of wheat import decisions.
Condemning the recent terror attacks in Balochistan, the PTI paid homage to the martyred security personnel but argued that relying solely on military measures had failed over the last five decades.
The party proposed a six-point road map including intelligence-led operations, addressing public grievances, dialogue with constitutional nationalists, distinguishing between those who respect the Constitution and those who do not, equitable utilization of provincial resources for local development and an inclusive political process involving all stakeholders.
