PTI rejects govt’s economic narrative as ‘fairy tale’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Monday termed the reported economic indicators and growth rate far from reality and a bid to hide behind the international economic trends to justify economic downturn.

Speaking to a news conference here, Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub Khan and PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram poured criticism on what they alleged the Form-47 government “for its flawed economic policies”.

Omar Ayub insisted that the reported economic indicators were far from real and that it was Shehbaz Sharif’s fairy tale budget reflection. “Inflation has crushed purchasing power, but ministers continue to make false claims,” he said and referred to the ‘alarming figure’ of 3.2 million young Pakistanis leaving the country in recent years.

He challenged the government ministers to accompany him to local markets to witness first-hand the impact of rising prices. “The finance minister may be honest, but he is surrounded by thugs,” Omar Ayub charged.

Commenting on the government’s economic data, he said that poverty in the country has reached 44.7 per cent and the price of wheat has increased by 50pc in three years. He pointed out that a person who was earning Rs50,000 in 2022 has its value reduced to about Rs22,000 today.

He noted that the growth of all crops in agriculture had been negative, whereas the number of donkeys had also increased while they talk of increasing livestock now but no one would count a buffalo, goat and cow.

“The price of wheat has increased by 50 per cent in three years and I am giving this data by comparing it with the data of the Ministry of Statistics for two years,” he added. He said that 80pc of the planning budget had gone back unutilised; this should also be looked into. He continued that the Petroleum Development Levy on petroleum products was Rs80, which would be increased to Rs100, although in 2022 the petrol levy was Rs20 per litre.

Omar Ayub said that privatisation of government institutions would not be possible without the rule of law. “This year’s revenue shortfall will be more than Rs1,000 billion,” he predicted. He charged that Mohsin Naqvi ordered wheat from Ukraine, costing farmers Rs450 billion. He added the large-scale manufacturing had been negative and that if the construction sector was closed, cement, sand and tiles would not be sold.

The former minister alleged that Ahsan Iqbal had completely failed in running the Ministry of Planning and Development. “If you have money and it is not spent on development works, where will the money go?” he asked.

PTI Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram accused Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb of presenting the survey in an apologetic manner and relying heavily on global economic trends to justify Pakistan’s economic downturn.

“The same people who criticised the PTI government’s 6.5pc GDP growth are now hiding behind international issues. This is a ‘Form-47’ economic survey, filled with lies and deception,” he charged. For the first time on this Eid, he claimed, 30pc of animals had gone back to farmers, as people could not afford to buy them.

He claimed a sharp increase in poverty, claiming that 45pc of Pakistan’s population is now living below the poverty line and that 30 million people have fallen into poverty in the past three years. “This number exceeds the populations of entire Gulf countries or New Zealand,” he said, questioning the government’s 1.5pc GDP growth rate.

Waqas criticised the government’s policies toward farmers and alleged economic mismanagement. “The public has become economically orphaned. People can’t even afford basic food,” he said.

He noted that it was said that electricity production had increased but they (rulers) have also included solar in their production, whereas people have installed solar systems after getting tired of power-related issues. “You people have nothing to do with solar systems,” he made it clear to the government.