PESHAWAR:
PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram on Friday slammed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Punjab government for its “anti-farmer policies” and mismanagement amid growing despair among the masses.
Speaking alongside advisor to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Muzammil Aslam during a press conference in Peshawar, Akram accused the Punjab government of “mastering the art of deception”, adding that it was misleading the people about the alleged economic progress.
He blasted Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for claiming economic recovery under her rule and challenged her to compare Punjab and KP. “She says the economy is on the right track, but we challenge them to compare Punjab’s economic situation with KP’s during PTI’s tenure. Poverty under us was 12% but under them it is 13%.”
He further recalled that exports during PTI’s rule reached $31 billion, while by 2024 it had declined to $26 billion under PML-N government.
“In 2022, poverty was 35%, but now it has risen to 44%. Their policies have worsened every economic indicator, from rising interest rates to skyrocketing institutional losses, including PIA,” he said.
The PTI spokesperson further accused the PML-N of exploiting public institutions for personal gain. “They have not strengthened national institutions. Instead, they are renaming basic health units, colleges and universities after family members.”
He also claimed that KP’s Sehat card covers treatment for 103 diseases, while PML-N has unnecessarily created separate cards for each disease.
Accusing the Punjab government of “anti-farmer politics”, Akram recalled that when the PTI launched the poultry programme, the PML-N had mocked it, “but now they themselves have become laughing stock”.
He also called out the Punjab Finance Minister for falsely claiming that the government has eliminated 150,000 job posts, saying that the said posts were already vacant.
“They are deceiving the public under the guise of reducing government burdens.”
Muzammil Aslam on this occasion highlighted KP’s governance as a model of economic stability. “Once the change in Pakistan began in Lahore, now it begins in Peshawar. When our leader [Imran Khan] talked about reducing the debt, they laughed at us. But still, KP’s debt is only Rs 725 billion, while Shehbaz Sharif borrowed a similar amount in just a week.”
He accused the government of mishandling essential goods. “They forcibly reduced flour prices by 36%, which will backfire in the future. They have pushed 1.8 million Pakistanis to leave the country out of desperation,” Aslam said.
He also dismissed the recent surge in the stock market, saying the 52,000-point rise was driven by only five companies, two of which exploited the public mercilessly.
