ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has asked the rulers to resign in the national interest, alleging that the government’s “record financial blunders” have pushed the country’s economy into the red zone, one step away from irreversible bankruptcy, which will result in total surrender of Pakistan’s sovereignty and its strategic assets.

Speaking at a news conference at the National Press Club here on Monday, PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal, information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb and former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair alleged that instead of addressing this alarming disaster in waiting, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was busy victimising political opponents through false corruption cases only to divert public attention.

Mr Iqbal pointed out that growth rate, fiscal deficit and inflation were key areas and the PTI had not only failed to sustain previous numbers but also caused record degradation in all three areas. He said it was unprecedented that any country’s growth rate plummeted over three per cent in a single year.

The PML-N leader said inflation had shot through the roof from 3pc to over 13pc which was catastrophic when coupled with low growth and fiscal deficit. He asked the PTI regime to either share a practicable rescue plan in parliament or step down to save the country.

Mr Zubair said he did not believe that the government had any economic plan at all, and, therefore, there was no point giving them any more time. He said that even after registering record fiscal deficit in a quarter, the prime minister and his cabinet members were celebrating which proved that they had no idea of how the economy worked.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said the “incompetence, ineptness and cluelessness of the selected prime minister and his imposed regime” had brought the country to hell’s gates.

She regretted that despite “record borrowing, record development cuts, record inflation, record tax hikes and record rupee devaluation”, the regime could not achieve its own set targets which should be enough for a “shameful administration” to resign.

“The poor people of this country are buried under 200pc gas price hike, 35pc electricity tariff hike, rendering 1.5 million jobless and pushing 4.5m below the poverty line and yet the rich got Rs300 billion in tax and fines write-offs,” she said.

“Calling for accountability of Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi metro projects while staying mum over trillion rupees corruption of Peshawar Metro and spending Rs1,100bn more than any past government on its own expenditure while conjuring up a circus of austerity is the signature of PTI’s hypocrisy,” she said.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2019