KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Monday accused the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of toeing the line of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government instead of running its affairs as an independent institution and said its move to gather details of government officers from rural Sindh would spark hatred and create an ethnic divide.

PPP leaders also lashed out at the “failure” of Prime Minister Imran Khan and his policies, which they said led to unprecedented inflation and made the lives of the common man miserable.

They questioned the role of NAB, which they said was deliberately ignoring the “incompetence and corruption” of government functionaries only to target the opposition and its leaders.

“How can the NAB ask for details of Sindh officers from rural areas?” said PPP information secretary Shazia Marri while speaking at a press conference at Bilawal House. “Is it sensible to target people for their background, colour, or ethnicity? The PTI government and its policies have not only devastated the economy, but it is also damaging fast the cultural norms, ethics and federal unity of the country. It would be an irreparable loss.”

‘Debt is increasing at such a fast pace that was never experienced before’

She said the PTI government had “squeezed the blood of the people” and it remained detached from the problems of the common man. The “incompetent prime minister”, she said, was wasting the nation’s money on unelected assistants.

“The people will soon take to the streets against the selected and heartless government,” Ms Marri said. “This selected PM is a pseudo philosopher who pretends to know everything but actually remains unaware of every ground reality,” she said. From the power sector to the economic sector, every segment of business is on the verge of collapse, she added.

She said that PM Imran Khan’s knowledge of the economy was defective and the government was constantly misleading the people about the economic conditions of the country. To add fuel to the fire, there had been a regular increase in power tariff since this incapable government was imposed on Pakistan, she said. She alleged that the PTI government, which promised to bring back $200 billion to the country, factually lost $11bn in loans in the last 30 months.

“The debt is increasing with such a fast pace that was never experienced before,” she said. “The value of the rupee against the dollar has decreased due to the failed economic policies of the prime minister. The people of the country are feeling insecure financially and security-wise due to the policies of the incompetent government. The country is suffering irreparable damage and losses due to the incompetence of Imran Niazi’s government.”

Flanked by senior leaders Waqar Mehdi, Shahida Rahmani and Surender Valasi, Ms Marri said the “selected” PTI-led government was putting the country’s economic sovereignty at stake. The people of Pakistan, she said, would not allow this government to hand over the State Bank of Pakistan to the International Monetary Fund under any circumstances.

“Imran Khan is promoting political extremism and due to his politics in the country today, we are suffering its bad consequences. It has become necessary to remove the incompetent government of Imran Niazi to save Pakistan from further dangerous consequences,” she said.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2021