Economy will continue to suffer under PTI rule

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Fazlur Rehman Friday said the government had battered the economy and there was no hope of its revival as long as the PTI remained in power.

"All sections of the society are suffering due to the government's policies. We must become a voice for the masses hit hard by the price hike," he said while speaking at a function on the Tank Road. He lambasted the government for claiming that the prices had been brought down. Giving a comparison, he said there was a huge increase in the prices of various items and a small decrease could not be termed improvement.

He was critical of the merger of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas into KP and said the change of status had not facilitated the people living there but multiplied their problems. "There is no proper system in the merged areas today. The people are in trouble," he said while claiming that the merger was the agenda of the international powers and that's why his party - Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam -- had opposed the move. He said if the Gilgit-Baltistan could be promised the status of a province, what was stopping the rulers from giving the same right to over 12 million tribal people who had every right to get a province.

Fazl said there were moves to establish the Indian hegemony in the region, as the rulers had accepted the Indian occupation of Kashmir. He resented the plans to recognize Israel and deplored that instead of raising voice for the oppressed Palestinians, the Muslim states were eager to get closer to Israel.