Pakistan plunges into political and economic crisis

Prime Minister Imran Khan chairs a meeting to review progress regarding Ehsaas Targeted Subsidies on Commodities in Islamabad on October 27, 2021. (PM’s Office)

By Nasir Aijaz
The AsiaN Representative

KARACHI: The political and economic chaos in Pakistan is deepening with every passing day due to the perpetual mismanagement and wrong policies of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

The opposition parties have taken to the streets to dislodge the Prime Minister Imran Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician, openly dubbed as ‘Mr. U-turn’ and ‘Liar’, for never implementing his manifesto since coming into power in August 2018.

Although the opposition parties had been agitating against the PTI government from the first year of its rule, they failed, mainly because of their own internal differences, and suspended protests reportedly under the pressure of military.

However, since last week, they again have launched a fresh series of anti-government rallies.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of opposition parties, led by the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Sharif Faction), known as PML-N and Jamiat Ulmai-e-Islam (Maulana Fazl-e-Rehman Faction) called as JUI-F, held rallies in a number of cities and towns across the country.

Another opposition party Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) also launched agitation the same day but separately. The PPP was previously member of PDM but later parted ways due to difference with PML-N and JUI-F.

At the rallies, the opposition leaders urged all segments of society, including traders, transporters, students, farmers, laborers and lawyers, to join the campaign to rid the country of “selected and incompetent rulers”.

The opposition parties often use the term ‘Selected Rulers’, as according to them the PTI was brought to power being ‘selected by the Military Establishment’.

The opposition parties’ anti-government drive is gaining momentum and even today (Friday), the PPP has planned holding demonstrations across the country. In Sindh province alone, the PPP has announced staging such demonstrations in more than 30 cities.

Now the main demand of the opposition parties is that Prime Minister Imran Khan step down forthwith.

The opposition parties’ drive is coupled with the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) Long March that started from Punjab province’s capital Lahore last Friday and is heading to the federal capital Islamabad. It has become another source of worry for the PTI government as it has decided to seal all entry points of the federal capital and other major cities on the way. This notorious banned religious outfit had staged such Long March and sit-ins in the past also during the government of PML-N, and it is known as ‘a tool of military establishment’ to weaken the civilian governments.

It’s the same extremist outfit, which had support of PTI before coming into power however now the same banned outfit has become headache for the PTI government.

In view of such a grave scenario, Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a meeting of the National Security Committee today (Friday) to discuss the situation in the country.

The masses are unhappy with Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party, as, contrary to their all promises of steering the country out of economic crisis, they have destroyed the economy and overburdened the poor with foreign loans and unprecedented inflation.

According to data released by certain official agencies, the inflation has reached its highest levels in 70 years during the three-year tenure of the PTI government, with food prices doubling, while the prices of cooking oil, sugar, wheat flour, petrol and poultry have reached historic levels.

The statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics show that from October 2018 to October 2021, the electricity rates registered an increase of 57 percent. Similar is the case with the rates of petroleum and Compressed Natural Gas. The prices of certain edibles have registered hundred percent raise.

Owing to such an unprecedented inflation, the opposition parties are demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan, stressing “his failure to control price hike”. займы срочно мфо