Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram has slammed the Punjab government, accusing it of pursuing policies that are detrimental to farmers.

Addressing a press conference in Peshawar along with provincial finance adviser Muzammil Aslam on Friday, Akram attacked the ruling government for its financial mismanagement, Express News reported.

He stated that the Punjab government has misled the public with false claims. He specifically addressed remarks made by Maryam Nawaz, who had claimed that the country’s economy was heading in the right direction.

“Maryam Nawaz says the economy is on the right track, but if we compare Punjab’s economic performance during their rule, during our tenure, poverty was 12% while now it is 13%,” he said.

He further criticized the government’s economic performance, noting that during PTI’s tenure, exports reached 31 billion, while in 2024, exports were expected to be only 26 billion. “In 2022 the poverty rate was 35%, but under their rule it has increased to 44%,” he added.

Akram also pointed to the rise in interest rates, which he claimed had contributed to the widening fiscal deficits, with the government facing losses of over Rs 408 billion. “Under their leadership, institutions like PIA are in the red,” he noted.

He accused the Punjab government of failing to improve essential public services, such as healthcare, and claimed that Maryam Nawaz had personally named health units after her, with colleges and universities also linked to her family.

“In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Sehat card provides coverage for 103 diseases, but now Maryam Nawaz has introduced separate cards for each disease,” said Akram.

On agriculture policy, Akram accused the Punjab government of being “anti-farmer”, citing how the PTI’s poultry program had been mocked by the opposition when it was introduced. “Now they themselves are becoming a joke,” he said, criticizing the government’s handling of agricultural initiatives.

He also addressed the government’s latest statement on cuts. “Your finance minister said they are cutting 150,000 jobs, but those jobs were already vacant,” he claimed, accusing the government of deceiving the public by falsely claiming they were reducing the burden on the economy.

Muzammil Aslam also took aim at the opposition, claiming that while earlier changes in Pakistan’s economy were once initiated in Lahore, they are now starting from Peshawar.

He compared the economic management of the PTI-led government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with the Punjab government’s handling of the economy, stating that while the former had made progress, the latter had left the country mired in debt.

Aslam further criticized the rising cost of essential commodities, especially food, and pointed out that the forced reduction in wheat prices was likely to lead to long-term negative consequences for the economy.

Noting the alarming number of Pakistanis leaving the country, he stated that 1.8 million people had been forced to migrate.