LAHORE:
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday blasted the government over the recent rise in oil prices, condemning it as “economic terrorism”.
The party also announced a boycott of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, demanded a judicial inquiry into the alleged wheat shortage, while calling for the immediate release and medical treatment of jailed party founder Imran Khan and other political prisoners.
It claimed that while reductions in international oil prices were never passed on to consumers, even minor increases were reflected domestically within 48 hours along with additional taxes.
PTI claimed that during Imran Khan’s tenure, petrol was kept at Rs150 per liter despite the “worst global crude oil super cycle”.
It also criticized those who had earlier demanded petrol at Rs70 per liter and claimed that they were now justifying prices exceeding Rs300 and even Rs400. The party accused the government of shifting the burden of economic hardship onto the public while shielding itself from the consequences of its policies.
Citing a recent tragedy in Hasilpur, PTI alleged that a family, crushed by poverty and unable to pay rent or a Rs.17,500 electricity bill, poisoned their two young children before taking their own lives.
It said the children had been crying for milk that their parents could not afford to buy, and alleged that the government was directly responsible for creating conditions that drove citizens to such despair.
The PTI also criticized the government’s handling of the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, claiming that the authorities were trying to turn the region into “a replica of Occupied Kashmir” by deploying 4,000 Frontier Corps personnel and Rangers while imposing a month-long communications blackout to suppress a peaceful movement.
The party said the demands of the Joint Awami Action Committee for affordable electricity and flour were legitimate.
It warned that any election conducted under such circumstances would amount to “a predetermined selection, not democracy”.
The PTI demanded an immediate lifting of restrictions, reaffirmed its support to the people of Kashmir and announced that it would not participate in the elections, standing by its decision to boycott the AJK polls.
Third wheat crisis
The PTI further alleged that despite claims of a colossal wheat crop, the government had engineered yet another artificial wheat crisis – the third in its tenure – by creating a shortage of over 3.5 million tonnes while planning to import another two million tonnes.
The party claimed that reports showed that 4.5 million tonnes of wheat had gone missing from Punjab government warehouses. It said flour prices had risen to between Rs130 and Rs150 per kilogram compared to Rs65 to Rs70 under the PTI government, while farmers had been devastated by skyrocketing input costs.
The PTI demanded a judicial inquiry into the alleged lack of wheat stocks and a forensic audit of wheat import decisions.
The PTI condemned the recent terror attacks in Balochistan and paid tribute to the martyred security personnel, but claimed that relying solely on military measures had failed over the past five decades.
The party proposed a six-point roadmap that includes intelligence-driven operations, addressing public grievances, dialogue with constitutional nationalists, distinguishing between those who respect the constitution and those who do not, equitable utilization of provincial resources for local development, and an inclusive political process involving all stakeholders.
