KARACHI: Justifying the timing and reasons behind the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Feb 27 ‘long march’, senior party leader Senator Sherry Rehman has claimed that the national economy has been surrendered to international powers for the first time in the country’s history. This has resulted in skyrocketing inflation, making living conditions miserable and forcing people to take to the street against the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Addressing a press conference at her residence here on Thursday, she described the PTI government as government formed on the basis of ‘artificial’ majority.

The PPP leader also warned that the final countdown had already started both in the parliament and in streets against the federal government of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

She claimed that the opposition parties were reuniting after a small break following the resolution of ‘misunderstandings’ among them.

“Pakistan has run 23 different financial programmes with the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and they all came to a successful end. But it’s for the first time in the history of Pakistan that our economy has been surrendered and now it is under the control of world powers. Now the long march is not only for the sake of politics, but it is also for the survival of the economy and the common man, whose life has become unbearable. Therefore, we appeal to every Pakistani to support this march,” she said.

She came up with details of difference in the present and past prices of edible and household items and fast increasing rates of electricity and energy, and said it was the main reason the PPP had to plan the long march.

“Petrol, which was Rs80 per litre, has now reached Rs160 per litre,” she said.

“The price of electricity has increased from Rs8 per unit to Rs21 per unit. Then average domestic gas bill that amounted up to Rs300 for 70 years has now gone up to Rs4,800. Ghee was selling at Rs170 per kg but it is now selling at over Rs400 a kilo. Similarly, the sugar rate has risen from Rs55 per kg to Rs125 per kg.”

She said that the US dollar rate was Rs105 but during the PTI government, the rate has increased to Rs176.

PPP Sindh general secretary Waqar Mehdi said that the long march will start from Mazar-i-Quaid and will reach Islamabad after six days.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2022