PESHAWAR: The opposition Awami National Party has expressed serious concern about the escalating inflation and said if Prime Minister Imran Khan couldn’t fulfil his commitment of providing relief to the poor people, he should step down.

Addressing a news conference at a hunger strike camp established against high inflation at Chowk Yadgar here on Friday, senior ANP leader and former MNA Ghulam Ahmad Bilour said the prices of the basic kitchen items had gone up manifold, so the common man was struggling to manage the essential household expenditure.

Accompanied by the party’s local office-bearers and traders, he said the hunger strike camp was held to mobilise the people against the government for a mass protest campaign against price hike.

The ANP leader said the prices of essential commodities had gone through the roof due to the frequent increase in the rates of petroleum products.

Holds hunger strike camp against rising prices of essential goods

He said the people understood the government’s failed economic policies, which had caused an unprecedented price hike, so they won’t vote for the ruling PTI in the next general elections.

“The policies of previous governments were far better than the current PTI’s as the former kept dollar, gas and power rates under control,” he said.

Mr Bilour said political activists, including those of the PTI, should join hands to oust the incompetent rulers without delay to the people’s misery.

He said the PM had promised 10 million jobs to youth but failed to keep that promise and instead, his government sacked hundreds of employees from different departments.

ANP provincial general secretary Sardar Hussain Babak, who was also in attendance, criticised the government over its ‘failure’ to provide relief to the poor people and demanded an immediate reversal of the recent increase in power and petroleum rates.

NAB CHIEF EXTENSION: ANP central senior vice president Amir Haider Khan Hoti on Friday criticised the government’s decision to extend the term of National Accountability Bureau chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal in office and declared amendments to the NAB law for the purpose an attempt to hide the corruption of its people.

Addressing a workers’ convention here, the ANP leader said had the NAB been headed by an honest person, most of the current government ministers and advisers would have been behind bars for corruption.

He said the PTI government was misusing the name of Riyasat-i-Madina to serve political ends.

Mr Hoti alleged that those shouting the slogan of ‘change’ were involved in corruption but the prime minister was unable to act against them.

He called the rulers puppets and claimed that ‘someone else’ was calling the shots.

The ANP leader said the government had completely surrendered to the International Monetary Fund, whose dictates caused power tariff to go up frequently to the misery of the people.

He expressed serious concern about the depreciation of Pakistani rupee and said the government had failed to control the prices of essential items.

“Had the government taken action against the people involved in sugar and wheat flour scandals, the situation would have never worsened like today,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2021