Opposition parties reject govt’s ‘false’ economic data

KARACHI: The opposition on Sunday cast aspersions on the government’s economic data, calling the figures “false” as it accused the government of “misleading” the nation.

The remarks were made by former finance minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Miftah Ismail and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s spokesman Mohammad Zubair at a press conference in Karachi.

Ismail claimed Prime Minister Imran Khan “runs the economy for the benefit of his friends”. He also criticised the government for pushing “20 million people into poverty”. “In just three years, Imran Khan took 50 per cent of the loans taken in 70 years,” Ismail added.

Former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair said finance minister Shaukat Tarin himself used to describe the government’s policies as “useless”.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, meanwhile, claimed Prime Minister Khan would also flee the country like other rules, like former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and former president Pervez Musharraf. At a news conference, the PPP leader alleged that the prime minister is “leading the country towards destruction in pursuit of Musharraf’s goal”.

“The poverty rate was 50 per cent during the rule of Imran Khan’s benefactor, dictator Pervez Musharraf,” Bilawal said, adding that massive loans were being taken from abroad on strict terms which would increase the economic woes of the country. Khan’s cabinet is “squandering money” from the national exchequer, claimed Bilawal. “Imran Khan’s crime is not only inflation but also patronising the mafia that is causing inflation in the country,” Bilawal alleged, adding the Premier is “accusing others” but he should “take a look at his own deeds first”.