Islamabad:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) castigated the government’s economic investigation on Monday, accusing it of distorting indicators and delivering a budget entirely shaped by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Leader of the opposition Omar Ayub, the central secretary of central information Sheikh Waqas Akram and PTI Mna Mubeen Arif Jutt held a joint press conference in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House.
Citing media reports, opposition leaders said that the number of people living below the poverty line had increased to 45%, compared to 35%, with around 30 million people now classified as depleted.
“This entire budget was sent by the IMF. This economic survey is a document in form 47,” said Omar Ayub, referring to the controversial electoral form and manipulated figures during the general elections of February 8.
“The purchasing power of Pakistan collapsed. In 2022, someone winning 50,000 rupees now effectively won RS22,000.”
AYUB also said that wheat prices have increased by 50% in the past three years, citing comparisons in the two -year data sets of the Bureau of Statistics. “Poverty reached 44.7%. The 80% value planning budget remained unused and approved.”
“And we have to ask: has the number of four-legged donkeys increased or two-legged donkeys?”
Addressing the media, Sheikh Waqas Akram has castigated government performance.
He said that the poor had been shaken in their bones, adding that reports reveal that poverty increased from 35 to 45%. “There was no earthquake or natural disaster during these three years which could explain the collapse of agriculture, and yet he tank.”
He noted that 37% of the population is linked to agriculture and “their backs have been broken”.
Waqas also recalled a moment at a meeting of the NFC, where the provincial finance minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would have asked how electricity growth was calculated. “The answer? They count the electricity generated from solar panels installed on the roofs of the people on which the government has no control.”
“Inflation has not diminished. For the first time, 30% of the cattle remained unsold during Eid. In the past three years, three million people have left the country. When we left the government, debt was 43,500 billion rupees. Since then, another RS31,500 billion has been borrowed.”
“This budget is not the government, it is dictated by the IMF. This economic survey is form 47, not reality.”
Pti MNA MUBEEN ARIF JUTT, also speaking to the supplier, referred to the comment of the Minister of Finance suggesting that the policy rate should be divided by two. “If the government is serious about the revival, it must take responsibility instead of relying on the dressing of the windows,” he said.
