PESHAWAR, Dec 11: Pakistan People’s Party on Wednesday announced to launch a protest movement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against the federal government over inflation, lawlessness and unemployment from Dec 20.

The announcement was made by PPP leader Zulfiqar Afghani during a news conference at Peshawar Press Club.

PPP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Vice President Kifatullah Khan Orakzai, Adviser to the party’s provincial president Saeed Ahmad Khan and leaders Iqbal Mohmand and Suleman Orakzai were also in attendance.

Mr Afghani said PPP workers from all over the district would stage a sit-in on GT Road in Hasthnagri area of Peshawar.

He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led federal government had failed to control inflation making the people’s lives extremely miserable.

The PPP leader said his party had called a meeting on Dec 27 in Peshawar to make a strategy on the upcoming local body elections.

“We cannot sit silent on the injustices and our workers will come to the streets in protest as the people have had enough of the problems,” he said.

Mr Afghani said lawlessness and unemployment had already played a havoc with local economy and the wrong policies of government had added to the people’s misery.

He said the PML-N-led federal government had utterly failed to fulfil its pre-election promises.

The PPP leader said the government hadn’t taken any practical step to address the key issues of the country.

He said the growing prices of food items and power and gas had stressed out the poverty-stricken people.

Mr Afghani flayed the federal government’s plan to privatise national entities and said the plan would increase unemployment in the country.

He criticised the government’s loan scheme for youths and said the youngsters won’t be able to pay interest on loans.

The PPP leader said the former PPP-led government had extended interest-free loans for promotion of businesses and other facilities to youths during its five years tenure enabling them to earn a respectable livelihood.

He also criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led provincial government to deviate from the pre-election promises and said the people had voted the PTI to power for bringing about a change in the province.

Mr Afghani said his party was protesting against drone strikes but it had ignored basic issues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.