ISLAMABAD: Poverty and unemployment are rising due to “bad governance” of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led government, leading the country towards “social anarchy”, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s secretary general Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday.

Allowing the present rulers to stay in power will be detrimental for the people as well as the country’s security, the PML-N leader said at a news conference.

Ahsan Iqbal termed the present government “the worst fascist regime” in the country’s history, saying that “if we do not block Prime Minister Imran Khan’s way now, time will never forgive us”.

Lashing out at the government’s policies in almost all sectors, the PML-N leader alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan had destroyed the administrative structure through bad governance and by ignoring merit.

Mr Iqbal regretted that Pakistan had gone down in the Global Innovative Index because of the government’s decision to stop funds for universities and research programmes.

Claims the opposition is united and will come out with a joint strategy on Sept 20

Instead of focusing on research and development, he alleged, the government was spending all its energy on “pursuing regressive policies”.

In an apparent reference to the disappearance of an official of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) from Islamabad, Ahsan Iqbal wondered what image the country would have in the outside world when people were being kidnapped right from the centre of the capital.

“This country does not need any enemy. Imran Khan’s government is the worst fascist regime. Like (Indian PM Narendra Modi), Imran Khan wants to become Pakistan’s Hitler,” he said.

“We want to give a message to Imran Khan that we will not bow before his fascist agenda. Register fake cases and put us in jail, but we will not surrender to your oppression.”

Mr Iqbal said the PML-N would protect fundamental rights and would not hesitate in offering any sacrifice for this purpose.

“We will not let this country go under dictatorship,” he added.

The PML-N leader accused the federal government of deliberately going into confrontation with Sindh over Karachi.

In a reference to the recent statement of Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Mr Iqbal alleged that the present government was making the enemy’s job easy by pushing the nation into a “hybrid war”.

In reply to a question, the PML-N leader claimed that the opposition was united and expressed the hope that it would come up with a joint strategy against the government at the multi-party conference to be held on Sept 20.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2020