ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek Tahafuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan questioned the government’s claim of economic stability on Thursday, saying it was “as stable as a dead horse.”
During a news conference, leaders of the opposition alliance cited alarming increases in poverty and joblessness, departure of several multinational firms, and emerging corruption scandals as glaring examples of the current state of affairs. Former governor Muhammad Zubair charged that every possible effort was being made to mislead the public with claims that the prime minister was working hard and that development appeared promising. He stated it was entirely incorrect to suggest that foreign direct investment was flowing into Pakistan.
He pointed out that the World Bank had projected economic growth for the current year at just 2.7 percent and noted that, despite significant figure manipulation, growth over the last four years (2022–2026) would still represent the lowest average growth rate. Likewise, he claimed investment had reached its lowest level in 51 years, adding that extreme data manipulation had been discussed in the National Accounts Committee meeting. He said the World Bank had also recorded a worrying rise in poverty, while the purchasing power of the middle class had eroded by 60 percent. “The current economic model since 2022 has been taking us nowhere, and hence the government has badly failed,” he alleged.
Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister Taimur Jhagra noted that a large number of multinational companies were winding up their operations in Pakistan, while the rulers were resorting to figure manipulation to mislead the masses. “If 25,000 votes can be turned into 250,000, then anything can happen,” he remarked, referring to last year’s elections.
Jhagra lamented that the world’s largest retail company, P&G, had decided to leave Pakistan, while government ministers were downplaying the exit as if other firms would replace it and there was nothing to worry about.
Calling the ongoing tug-of-war between the PMLN and PPP a “fixed fight,” former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar expressed the wish that their focus should have been on flood victims, noting that some 6 million people in Punjab alone had been affected by the calamity. “When it comes to looting the people, these two parties are together, as sugar mills are owned by these two ruling families,” he charged, referring to the recent Rs300 billion sugar scandal. Khokhar also highlighted that a solar scandal had erupted in Sindh, where billions were allegedly pocketed by selling solar panels at inflated prices after procuring them cheaply.
Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser expressed alarm at the deteriorating law and order situation across the country and stated that the only solution to this challenge—and that of the economy—was a return to the Constitution and the rule of law. He said the alliance would meet again on October 12 to announce the schedule for public meetings, declaring, “This hybrid system cannot survive.”